Effect of industrial pollution on the distribution of Pu and Am in soil and on soil-to-plant transfer of Pu and Am in a pine forest in SW Finland

The effect of industrial pollution on the behavior of plutonium and americium was evaluated in a pine forest in the vicinity of a Cu-Ni smelter in SW Finland. Soil and vegetation were sampled at distances of 0.5, 2, 4 and 8 km from the smelter. The vertical distribution of plutonium and americium was studied in litter, organic layer and mineral layers. The amount of Pu and Am in the litter layer increased and that in the organic layer decreased towards the smelter. Concentrations of plutonium and americium in different vegetation species decreased in the order mushrooms > lichens (Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica) > Empetrum nigrum > Vaccinium vitis-idaea.