Level and origin of 129I and 137Cs in lichen samples (Cladonia alpestris) in central Sweden

Lichen is a symbiosis between algae and fungi. They have for decades been used as bioindicators for atmospheric deposition of heavy metals, organic compounds and radioactive elements. Especially the species Cladonia alpestris and Cladonia rangiferina are important for the food chain lichen-reindeer-man.The concentration of ¹²⁹I was determined in lichen samples (Cladonia alpestris) contaminated by fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests explosions and the Chernobyl accident. The samples were collected at Lake Rogen District (62.3°N, 12.4°E) in central Sweden in the periods 1961-1975 and 1987-1998, and analysed with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at CNA (Seville) to study its distribution in different layers. Data on the ¹³⁷Cs activity measured previously were also included in this study. The ¹²⁹I concentration ranged from (0.95 ± 0.13) × 10⁸ at g⁻¹ in 1961 in the uppermost layer to (14.2 ± 0.5) × 10⁸ at g⁻¹ in 1987 in deepest layer. The ¹²⁹I/¹³⁷Cs atom ratio ranged between 0.12 and 0.27 for lichen samples collected in the period 1961-1975, indicating weapons tests fallout. For lichen samples collected between 1987 and 1998 the behaviour of ¹³⁷Cs concentrations reflected Chernobyl fallout. The concentrations of the two radionuclides followed each other quite well in the profile, reflecting the same origin for both.From the point of view of the spatial distribution in the lichen, it appears that ¹²⁹I was predominantly accumulated in the lowest layer, the opposite to ¹³⁷Cs for which the highest amounts were detected systematically in the topmost layer of lichen. This vertical distribution is important for radioecology because lichen is the initial link in the food chain lichen-reindeer-man, and reindeer only graze the upper parts of lichen carpets.     

Concentrations of (137)Cs in summer pasture plants that reindeer feed on in the reindeer management area of Finland

Samples of summer pasture plants that reindeer feed on were collected in order to study ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in different plant species and in species nested in certain site types, and to study the regional distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in the Finnish reindeer management area. Plant species were categorized by the site types of mineral soil forest (xeric heath forest and mesic heath forest) and peatland. A third category called ’other plant species’ included plants with various site types, poorly determined species and species with poor statistics. The ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in different site types differed significantly. The mean ¹³⁷Cs concentrations of the whole reindeer management area in the xeric heath forest plant species was 44 ± 27 Bq/kg dw, in the mesic heath forest plant species 75 ± 59 Bq/kg dw and in the peatland plant species 219 ± 150 Bq/kg dw. The peatland species uptake ¹³⁷Cs more efficiently than plant species of mineral soil forests. A particularly efficient collector of ¹³⁷Cs was Trichophorum sp. It is suggested that Trichophorum sp. could be used as an indicator species for reindeer summer fodder plants. The highest concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs were found in Southern Lapland and the lowest in Northern Lapland. Today, the concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in summer pasture plants that reindeer feed on in Finland are at such a level that there is no need to avoid any plant species. In the case of future nuclear fallout, reindeer grazing in peatlands would increase concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in reindeer meat.     

Radioiodine and radiocesium in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece due to the Fukushima nuclear accident

Radioiodine (¹³¹I) in air and rainwater as high as 497 μBq m⁻³ and 0.7 Bq L⁻¹, respectively, as well as ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs in air as high as 145 μBq m⁻³ and 126 μBq m⁻³, respectively were recorded in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece (40°38′N, 22°58′E) from March 24, 2011 through April 09, 2011, after a nuclear accident occurred at Fukushima, Japan (37°45′N, 140°28′E) on March 11, 2011.     

Long-term dynamics of radioactive <Superscript>90</Superscript>Sr and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs contamination of small mammals in the Chernobyl zone

Between 1986 and 1994, a decrease in nonalimentary ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs intake and changes in the accessibility of radionuclides in the soil-plant link of their cycle resulted in a 10-to 100-fold decrease in their specific activity (SA) in the bodies of small mammals inhabiting the Chernobyl zone, and a similar decrease was observed in the radionuclide transition factor (TF) in the soil-animal chain. Between 1995 and 2005, no consistent increase or decrease in SA or TF could be revealed against the background of a combined effect of different physicochemical and ecological factors. It is suggested that subsequent changes in the level of radioactive contamination of small mammals will generally reflect only the dynamics of physical ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs decay, but, nevertheless, seasonal and local variations in this level will be significant.     

Behavior of 137Cs in soils of transitional bogs

Specific features of ¹³⁷Cs accumulation, transformation, and migration in humus-peaty and peaty-gley soils of transitional bogs are discussed with reference to the southwestern part of the Russian Federation, which was most heavily contaminated after the Chernobyl accident. The influence of physicochemical soil properties and concentrations of typomorphic elements on these processes is characterized. It is concluded that bog soils accumulate ¹³⁷Cs in the form of hardly movable compounds and, as a consequence, transitional bogs are transformed into critical ecosystems.     

Global Radioactive Contamination Background in Terrestrial Ecosystems 13 Years after the Chernobyl Accident

The contents of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil, plant, and animal samples collected in the ecosystems of protected areas from the White Sea to the Black Sea in 1999 slightly differ from those in the period between 1980 and 1984. As a result of global fallout after the Chernobyl accident, the content of radioactive cesium in the soil has increased only on the territory of the Biological Station of Moscow State University at the White Sea, whereas that in the litter and plants has increased in virtually all areas studied. The isotope content in animals is actually equal to that recorded between 1980 and 1984. The mobility of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil–plant link has increased, which may be due to fallout after the accident. The duration of a complete radionuclide cycle in ecosystems decreases from 10 half-life periods in northern regions to 2.5 half-life periods in the southern regions. The Chernobyl disaster has caused no significant changes in the global radioactive background in the European part of the Russian Federation.     

Comprehensive evaluation of heavy metal contamination of sediment in Lake Dianchi by using modified AHP method and 137Cs dating

Through the use of general sampling and measurement by ¹³⁷ Cs dating, problems regarding the absence of monitoring data can easily be resolved. Further, weighted values need to be determined while Environment Quality Comprehensive Index (EQCI) is commonly used as applied in environmental quality comprehensive evaluation. In order to overcome the subjectivity in determining weights, the modified Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was designed. The modified AHP method involved the following key procedures: First, the parameters y _i1 and y _i2 were calculated based on the monitoring data; second, the factors were put in order according to the symbol and value of y _i1 and y _i2; third, the continuous odd integers, which represented the importance of factors, were given to factors according to their seating order; and, fourth, the factor weights were determined from the pair-wise comparison matrix calculated by the ratio of the given odd integers. Therefore, the weights were completely based on the monitoring data. In the present study, the comprehensive quality of sediments in five sections of Lake Dianchi were evaluated and the results indicated that the current contamination of sediments in each lake section is much more serious than at any other time in history. __________ Translated from Environmental Science, 2006, 27(8): 1531–1536 [译自: 环境科学]     

典型喀斯特坡地137Cs的分布与相关影响因子研究

通过野外考察和大量的137Cs取样分析,对喀斯特坡地土壤137Cs分布及相关影响因子进行了初步研究.结果表明,喀斯特区域137Cs剖面分布特征与非喀斯特区域相似,林地土壤剖面137Cs呈现指数分布模式,耕地剖面的137Cs呈均匀分布模式;喀斯特区域落水洞洞口45 cm以上土层中的137Cs比活度变幅为1.7~3.3 Bq/kg,137Cs分布较深,表明洞口现存土壤多由侵蚀物质堆积形成;2个石缝中的土壤样品137Cs比活度分别为16.8 Bq/kg和37.6 Bq/kg,远远高于临近土体,表明裸岩是影响喀斯特区域137Cs地表空间运移的一个重要因素;随坡面海拔升高,137Cs的面积活度表现出波动振荡趋势,空间异质性明显,林地和农耕地坡面137Cs面积活度变幅分别为299.4~1 592.6 Bq/m2和115.8~1 478.6 Bq/m2;林地坡面137Cs面积活度与坡度和海拔高度呈极显著正相关,农耕地坡面137Cs面积活度和坡度呈不明显的负相关,与海拔高度呈显著负相关.地形地貌和人为干扰强度是影响坡面137Cs空间分布规律的主要因素.     

川中丘陵区紫色土坡耕地土壤侵蚀特征

利用137Cs示踪方法与耕作侵蚀模型评价了川中丘陵区紫色土坡耕地土壤侵蚀速率,并通过比较分析方法探讨了2种典型坡耕地-短陡坡与缓长坡耕地-土壤侵蚀特征差异。结果表明,短陡坡耕地土壤侵蚀速率高达52.6 t.hm-2.a-1,是缓长坡耕地土壤侵蚀速率（26.7 t.hm-2.a-1）的2倍。耕作侵蚀是短陡坡耕地的主要侵蚀过程,它整体性搬运土壤,其对土壤总侵蚀的贡献高达74%。水蚀是缓长坡耕地的主要侵蚀过程,其分选性搬运土壤,对土壤总侵蚀的贡献为55%。短陡坡耕地与缓长坡耕地土壤侵蚀速率均沿着向下坡方向逐渐降低,但短陡坡耕地土壤侵蚀速率下降梯度明显高于缓长坡耕地。耕作侵蚀导致两种坡耕地的坡顶土壤损失最为严重。因此,川中丘陵区的耕作侵蚀风险应该引起重视。     

Determining floodplain sedimentation rates using Cs in a low fallout environment dominated by channel- and cultivation-derived sediment inputs, central Queensland, Australia

Fallout ¹³⁷Cs has been widely used to determine floodplain sedimentation rates in temperate environments, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Its application in low fallout, tropical environments in the southern hemisphere has been limited. In this study we assess the utility of ¹³⁷Cs for determining rates of floodplain sedimentation in a dry-tropical catchment in central Queensland, Australia. Floodplain and reference site cores were analysed in two centimetre increments, depth profiles were produced and total ¹³⁷Cs inventories calculated from the detailed profile data. Information on the rates of ¹³⁷Cs migration through local soils was obtained from the reference site soil cores. This data was used in an advection–diffusion model to account of ¹³⁷Cs mobility in floodplain sediment cores. This allowed sedimentation rates to be determined without the first year of detection for ¹³⁷Cs being known and without having to assume that ¹³⁷Cs remains immobile following deposition. Caesium-137 depth profiles in this environment are demonstrated to be an effective way of determining floodplain sedimentation rates. The total ¹³⁷Cs inventory approach was found to be less successful, with only one of the three sites analysed being in unequivocal agreement with the depth profile results. The input of sediment from catchment sources that have little, or no, ¹³⁷Cs attached results in true depositional sites having total inventories that are not significantly different from those of undisturbed reference sites.