Inventory and vertical migration of ¹³⁷Cs in Spanish mainland soils

In this study the total activity of ¹³⁷Cs deposited per unit area over the Spanish peninsular territory was analysed using a 150 × 150 km² mesh grid, with samples taken from 29 points. The deposited activities ranged between 251 and 6074 Bq/m². A linear relationship was obtained between these values and the mean annual rainfall at each sampling point which allowed a map to be drawn, using GIS software, which shows the distribution of total deposited ¹³⁷Cs activity across the Spanish mainland. At twelve of these sampling points the vertical migration profile of ¹³⁷Cs was obtained. These profiles are separated into two groups with different behaviour, one of which includes clay and loam soils and the other containing sandy soils. For both groups of profiles the parameters of the convective-diffusive model, which describes the vertical migration of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil, v (apparent convection velocity) and D (apparent diffusion coefficient) were calculated.     

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.     

The simulation of long-range transport of ¹³⁷Cs from East Asia to Japan in 2002 and 2006

To evaluate the quantities of ¹³⁷Cs from past nuclear tests being transported to and deposited in Japan by naturally-occurring phenomena, the authors developed long-range transport models for ¹³⁷Cs considering Asian dust. The simulation using these models backed the observed recent increase of ¹³⁷Cs deposition along the coast of the Sea of Japan in early spring. For the sake of public safety, it is vital to ascertain whether an increase of radioactive deposition is caused by natural phenomena or a nuclear accident. The observations in recent years have suggested that dust and soil containing ¹³⁷Cs is transported from the regions around Inner Mongolia to Japan by the wind. In this paper, using observation data from the early spring of 2002 and 2006, the authors have found good agreement between the simulations and the measurements. The simulations reproduced the entrainment of ¹³⁷Cs and subsequent transport to Japan caused by strong winds associated with low pressure areas around the Inner Mongolian grasslands. The most likely cause of high-level ¹³⁷Cs deposition over northern Japan during March 2002 was ¹³⁷Cs associated with particles transported at low-altitude (1 km) and subjected to precipitation on the 22nd to 24th.     

Short- and long-term patterns of ¹³⁷Cs in fish and other aquatic organisms of small forest lakes in southern Finland since the Chernobyl accident

We summarize the patterns of ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations and transfer into fish and other biota in four small forest lakes in southern Finland during a twenty-year period following the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. The results from summer 1986 showed fastest accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs into planktivorous fishes, i.e. along the shortest food chains. Since 1987, the highest annual mean values of ¹³⁷Cs have been recorded in fish occupying the highest trophic levels, for perch (Perca fluviatilis) 13,600 Bq/kg (ww) and for pike (Esox lucius) 20,700 Bq/kg (ww). At the same time, activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in crustacean zooplankton and Asellus aquaticus have ranged between 1000 and 19,500 Bq/kg (dw). In 2006, 5-28% of the 1987 ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration levels were still present in perch and pike. Since 1989 their ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in oligohumic seepage lakes have remained significantly higher than in polyhumic drainage lakes due to the increased transfer of ¹³⁷Cs into fish in the seepage lakes with lower electrolyte concentrations, longer water retention times and lower sedimentation rate.     

137Cs Inventory in Abiotic Component and Biota From the Aegean and Ionian Sea - Greece

This study deals with ¹³⁷Cs dispersion and behaviour in the Aegean and Ionian Sea based on work done during the period 1984-1994, as a brief general review. Sea water, sediment and marine biota were analysed and measured by gamma spectrometry and the activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs were evaluated with consideration to the sources of pollution. According to ¹³⁷Cs levels the period is distinguished into three sub-periods, the pre-Chernobyl, the early Chernobyl influence and the late Chernobyl influence period. During the early period of the Chernobyl accident the ¹³⁷Cs levels in the Greek marine environment increased roughly up to an order of magnitude if compared with the pre-accident ones. Since 1988, the late impact of the accident is focused mainly in the North Aegean Sea, at the Dardanelles mouth, due to the Black Sea outflow.     

新疆核试验场周围地区主要食品中~(90)Sr(锶)、~(137)Cs(铯)水平及其所致居民剂量

本文报道了新疆核试验场周围地区9个调查区17种主要食品中~(90)Sr、~(137)Cs含量分别为1.1～72.3,0.3～40.7×10~(-2)B_q·Kg~(-1);3个对照区分别为1.6～68.4,0.6～27.4×10~(-2)B_q·K_g~(-1)。两地区同类食品中~(90)Sr、~(137)Cs平均含量基本一致。调查区~(90)Sr、~(137)Cs所致成年居民有效剂量当量值分别为2μSV(集体剂量当量为30.0人· SV);0.3μSV(4.5人· SV)。对照区分别为2.2μSV(集体剂量当量为20.9人·SV);0.4μSV(3.0人·SV)。可见我国核试验产生的~(90)Sr、~(137)Cs对核试验场周围地区食品没有造成明显的局部污染,所致居民剂量当量负担仅为我国天然外照射所致年有效剂量当量(952μSV)的0.2％和0.03％。对该地区的广大居民健康不会产生有害的影响。     

Fractal and multifractal approach to environmental pollution

A few case studies will be presented involving both radioactive and chemical pollution at small, medium, and large space-time scales. Reported are recent advances in the field of environmental pollution involving the use of fractals and multifractals. The mathematical tools proposed here may offer new perspectives for investigating many of the problems of nonlinear variability which commonly arise when dealing with pollutants, such as the presence of outliers and the sparseness of the sampling networks. They may also lead to a simplification of the models adopted for studying natural phenomena, thanks to a scaling approach. Finally, they may provide parameters whose values are directly related to the nonlinear dynamics involved in the pollutant distribution in the environment which, in turn, may be relevant for computer simulation and epidemiological or risk assessment purposes.     

大亚湾沉积物中137Cs纵向迁移研究

鉴于海洋沉积物是^137Cs在海域内迁移的最终归宿．建立了沉积物中污染物纵向迁移分布的定量模型，在机理分析中充分考虑了海水-表层沉积物界面上通过沉降、扩散、吸附-解吸等作用完成的物质传输，并对大亚湾内4个监测点底质芯样中^137Cs活度进行了模拟分析，对未来底质中^137Cs的富集趋势进行了预测。