C, δC and total C content in soils around a Brazilian PWR nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plants release ¹⁴C during routine operation mainly as airborne gaseous effluents. Because of the long half-life (5730 years) and biological importance of this radionuclide (it is incorporated in plant tissue by photosynthesis), several countries have monitoring programs in order to quantify and control these emissions. This paper compares the activity of ¹⁴C in soils taken within 1 km from a Brazilian nuclear power plant with soils taken within a reference area located 50 km away from the reactor site. Analyses of total carbon, δ¹³C and ¹³⁷Cs were also performed in order to understand the local soil dynamics. Except for one of the profiles, the isotopic composition of soil organic carbon reflected the actual forest vegetation present in both areas. The ¹³⁷Cs data show that the soils from the base of hills are probably allocthonous.     

三岔湖沉积物揭示的湖泊营养化进程与人类活动的关系

在210Pb和137Cs定年基础上,研究了三岔湖沉积物理化性质的垂直和水平变化格局,揭示了三岔湖沉积物的特性、沉积速率、碳氮磷变化格局与人类活动和湖泊富营养化进程的关系.三岔湖不同时期沉积物的TOC、TN、TP与三岔湖水质呈现同样的变化格局.建库初期三岔湖水质为贫营养状态,随着人类活动的加剧,水质不断恶化.沉积物的沉积速率和碳氮磷含量的变化与人类活动密切相关,工、农、渔业、旅游业等人类活动导致三岔湖湖泊营养化进程加快.控制人类活动的强度是改善湖泊水质的关键.网箱养殖是三岔湖沉积物中磷的最重要来源,停养后沉积物中磷含量的下降将是一个相当漫长的过程.     

黔中高原岩溶丘陵坡地土壤中的~(137)Cs分布

黔中岩溶坡地土壤中137Cs的深度分布坡顶和坡底具有相同的趋势,次表层土壤中137Cs的比活度最大;坡中土壤中137Cs的含量先增加后陡然减少。岩溶坡地土壤中137Cs的比活度介于9.1 Bq/kg~56.9 Bq/kg之间,变化趋势顺坡降低,与土层厚度变化趋势相反;平均比活度为26.1 Bq/kg,远远大于本底值。岩溶坡地土壤中137Cs的面积活度介于144.7 Bq/m2~440.2 Bq/m2之间,顺坡变化趋势不明显;与本底值比较,流失比较大;可能的原因一是黔中岩溶坡地早期石漠化较严重,基岩无法吸附137Cs,导致核爆期间沉降的137Cs随水流失;二是岩溶坡地土壤中的137Cs随土壤颗粒发生了地下漏失。基于以上调查和目前的计算模型,认为用于调查均质土壤地区土壤侵蚀的137Cs法暂时不适合直接用于基岩型岩溶坡地土壤侵蚀速率的调查。     

137Cs在大鹏澳中迁移分布的数值模拟与预测

137Cs作为广东核电站放射性排出核素之一,具有高残留,高积累的特点.悬浮物对放射性核素的吸附沉降是影响海湾水体中核素迁移的重要机制之一.为正确评价核电站放射性排出物对大亚湾海湾水域的影响,建立了考虑悬浮物吸附沉降影响的深度平均二维对流扩散模型,模拟了放射性核素137Cs在大鹏澳内的迁移分布状况,并对未来湾内水质进行预测.模拟预测表明若维持当前排放量,未来50年内海湾中137Cs活度并没有呈持续上升趋势,局部虽略有累积,但活度值仍很小,最大仅约4Bq/m3,说明悬浮物吸附137Cs沉降对海湾的自净作用不容忽视. 137     

6-HO-BDE-137对大鼠睾丸支持细胞的毒性

以原代培养的大鼠睾丸支持细胞为研究对象,选取环境及生物体中均有检出的一种典型的羟基化PBDE——6-HO-BDE-137作为目标化合物,设置0、0.1、1、10μmol·L-14个浓度梯度,应用噻唑蓝(MTT)试验、荧光显微镜观察和AnnexinV-FITC/PI双染流式细胞术,通过检测大鼠睾丸支持细胞增殖活性、细胞形态和细胞凋亡坏死率的变化,探讨其对支持细胞的损伤情况.研究发现,6-HO-BDE-137显著影响支持细胞的增殖活力,暴露24h,10μmol·L-1浓度组细胞与对照组相比显著增殖(p<0.05),随暴露时间的延长(至48h),10μmol·L-1组转为增殖抑制;支持细胞形态也表现出不同程度的改变,10μmol·L-1浓度组变化最为明显,有大量的细胞变圆飘起;随6-HO-BDE-137暴露浓度的升高,支持细胞死亡率增加,凋亡是支持细胞死亡的主要方式.研究结果提示:6-HO-BDE-137具有生殖毒性.     

Time-dependency of the Cs contamination of wild boar from a region in Southern Germany in the years 1998 to 2008

Following the Chernobyl accident, ¹³⁷Cs contamination levels of wild boar in some districts of Southern Germany are still exceeding thousands of Bq kg⁻¹. While the long term ¹³⁷Cs concentration in forest plants, mushrooms, and roe deer meat has decreased significantly, for wild boar it has remained constant during the last decade. Between 1998 and 2008, we analysed the muscle meat of 656 wild boars shot in the district (“Landkreis”) Ravensburg. The ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration showed considerable variability from less than 5 up to 8266 Bq kg⁻¹ and it followed a seasonal pattern, which is attributed to changes in dietary habits, fodder availability, meteorological conditions and specific behaviour of ¹³⁷Cs in wild boar organism. T_ag values for wild boars from the district Ravensburg varied from 0.008 to 0.062 m² kg⁻¹ during 2000–2008.     

Sediment budgets and source determinations using fallout Cesium-137 in a semiarid rangeland watershed,Arizona, USA

Analysis of soil redistribution and sediment sources in semiarid and arid watersheds provides information for implementing management practices to improve rangeland conditions and reduce sediment loads to streams. The purpose of this research was to develop sediment budgets and identify potential sediment sources using ¹³⁷Cs and other soil properties in a series of small semiarid subwatersheds on the USDA ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed near Tombstone, Arizona, USA. Soils were sampled in a grid pattern on two small subwatersheds and along transects associated with soils and geomorphology on six larger subwatersheds. Soil samples were analyzed for ¹³⁷Cs and selected physical and chemical properties (i.e., bulk density, rocks, particle size, soil organic carbon). Suspended sediment samples collected at measuring flume sites on the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed were also analyzed for these properties. Soil redistribution measured using ¹³⁷Cs inventories for a small shrub-dominated subwatershed and a small grass-dominated subwatershed found eroding areas in these subwatersheds were losing −5.6 and −3.2 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively; however, a sediment budget for each of these subwatersheds, including depositional areas, found net soil loss to be −4.3 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ from the shrub-dominated subwatershed and −0.1 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ from the grass-dominated subwatershed. Generally, the suspended sediment collected at the flumes of the six other subwatersheds was enriched in silt and clay. Using a mixing model to determine sediment source indicated that shrub-dominated subwatersheds were contributing most of the suspended sediment that was measured at the outlet flume of the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed. The two methodologies (sediment budgets and sediment source analyses) indicate that shrub-dominated systems provide more suspended sediment to the stream systems. The sediment budget studies also suggest that sediment yields measured at the outlet of a watershed may be a poor indicator of actual soil redistribution rates within these semiarid watersheds. Management of these semiarid rangelands must consider techniques that will protect grass-dominated areas from shrub invasion to improve rangeland conditions.     

Inventories of Pu, Cs, and excess Pb in sediments from freshwater and brackish lakes in Rokkasho, Japan, adjacent to a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant

We investigated the vertical profiles of ^239+240Pu, ¹³⁷Cs, and excess ²¹⁰Pb (²¹⁰Pb_ex) in sediment core samples obtained from two freshwater lakes and two brackish lakes situated near the first commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan, before the final test of the plant using actual spent nuclear fuel. The inventory of ^239+240Pu in those lakes was larger than that in soil in Rokkasho, which indicated the inflow of ^239+240Pu from the catchment area in addition to direct deposition on the lake surfaces. The ¹³⁷Cs inventory in sediments of the brackish lakes was lower than that in the soil, which showed that part of the ¹³⁷Cs was removed from the sediments by the brackish water or that it was not deposited into the sediments, because of the high solubility of Cs in brackish water. The ¹³⁷Cs inventory in sediments of the freshwater lakes was higher than that of the brackish lakes, and comparable with that in soil except for one core sample out of four. The ^239+240Pu/¹³⁷Cs ratio in freshwater lake sediments was higher than that in soil, and that indicated that part of the ¹³⁷Cs was lost from the sediments. The low inventory of ¹³⁷Cs may be attributable to competition for absorption sites in sediments with ammonium ions formed in the reducing environment which occurs from summer to fall in the sediments. Those data will be used as background data on the artificial radionuclides in the lakes to assess the effect of released radionuclides on their concentrations.     

Artificial radionuclides in the atmosphere over Lithuania

Measurements of airborne radioactive aerosol concentration were carried out on the basis of 1-3 days samples after the Chernobyl disaster and during the period of 1992-2003. Transport of "hot" particles of different composition resulted in the high activity concentrations of (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239,240)Pu and (241)Am in the atmosphere in Vilnius at the end of April 1986. The (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio showed clear evidence of non-global plutonium originating from the Chernobyl accident in the atmosphere over Lithuania. The (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio ranged from 0.14 to 0.40 in monthly samples in Vilnius in 1995-2003. An increase in activity concentration of (137)Cs by a factor of 100 (up to 300 microBq/m(3)) was found following forest fires in the Ukraine and Belarus. However, no transport of the Chernobyl plutonium was observed and the (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio in samples collected during the forest fires was found to be 0.229 and 0.185, respectively. The exponential decrease in the (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio from 0.30 to 0.19 (mean values) was observed in 1995-2003.     

Natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in airborne particulate samples collected in Barcelona (Spain)

Results for naturally occurring ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K, ²¹⁴Bi, ²¹⁴Pb, ²¹²Pb, ²²⁸Ac and ²⁰⁸Tl and anthropogenic ¹³⁷Cs in airborne particulate matter in the Barcelona area during the period from January 2001 to December 2005 are presented and discussed. The ²¹²Pb and ²⁰⁸Tl, ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb, ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb radionuclide levels showed a significant correlation with each other, with correlation coefficients of 0.99, 0.78 and 0.69, respectively, suggesting similar origin/behaviour of these radionuclides in the air. Caessium-137 and Potassium-40 were transported to the air as resuspended particle from the soil. The ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb concentrations showed similar seasonal variations, with a tendency for maximum concentrations during the summer months. An inverse relationship was observed between the ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs concentrations and weekly rainfall, indicating washout of atmospheric aerosols carrying these radionuclides.