Archives → 2021 → V. 61. № 3 → pp. 286-300
Article
Vertical Migration of 137Cs of Chernobyl Fallout in Various Soils
V. S. Anisimov, V. K. Kuznetsov, A. I. Sanzharov
Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Obninsk, Russia
Abstract
The article presents the results of studying the processes of vertical migration of the main dose-forming radioisotope of the Chernobyl fallout – 137Cs within 50 km of the zone of the northern trace of the Chernobyl accident release on the territory of the Ukrainian and Belarusian sections of the Polesie lowland, as well as on the territories of the Russian part of the Polesie lowland and the Central Russian upland. The paper focuses on a retrospective analysis of methodological approaches to solving problems related to the assessment of the rate of vertical translocation of radionuclide from the soil profile and its entry to groundwater. Of particular value as reference points are the data obtained in the immediate vicinity (and at a slight distance from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant) immediately and in the next few years after the accident. In the course of the research, the methods generally accepted in soil science, geochemistry, and radioecology were widely used: conjugate geochemical analysis (CGA), comparative geographical analysis, soil keys, profile analysis, and radioisotope analysis. The results obtained showed that the intensity of the vertical migration of 137Cs in hydromorphic soils is significantly higher than in the automorphic soils associated with them. At the same time, the migration coefficients of slow components (M1), which play the main role in the movement of radionuclides along the soil profile, are significantly higher in hydromorphic soils. The ecological clearance half-time for 137Cs in the root layer for hydromorphic soils are, on average, 2 times shorter than for automorphic soils. It was found that in floodplain and waterlogged meadows in 1989, more than 90% of the 137Cs stock in the soils was contained in the upper 5 cm layer. By 2016–2020, the total amount of radionuclide no longer exceeded 45%. A similar pattern was observed in virgin meadows with chernozem soils. At the same time, the distribution of 137Cs in the soil profile with the highest content of 137Cs in the layer of 0–5 cm was stabilized in dry areas with sod-podzolic soils of light granulometric composition.
Keywords
Radioactive contamination, soil, profile, landscape, vertical migration, two-component model
Current Issue
FAQs
Agreement as pdf file signed by all co-authors must be submitted by e-mail together with all materials of the article. Original hard copies of the agreement (two copies) must be sent by post to the address of the Editorial Board.
Yes, by all means. The original of an illustration is the file of illustration in its original format. Photographs should best be submitted in tiff format with the resolution at least 300 dpi.