title: Comparison of the uptake of radiocaesium from soil to grass after nuclear weapons tests and the Chernobyl accident.
abstract: In order to compare the transfer factors of 137Cs deposited after the fallout from the Chernobyl accident with 137Cs from nuclear weapons testing, soil and vegetation samples have been collected from a semi-natural ecosystem in western Norway. For the 137Cs from Chernobyl, 85% is found in the upper 5 cm of soil, whereas most of the nuclear weapons test 137Cs is found between 3 and 12 cm in the soil profile. The transfer factors from soil to vegetation are calculated to be 0.41 +/- 0.07 m2 kg-1 for the nuclear weapons test 137Cs and 0.40 +/- 0.22 m2 kg-1 for Chernobyl 137Cs. Hence, the results show no significant difference between the two fallouts. The effective ecological half-life of 137Cs for this ecosystem is estimated to be between 10 and 20 years. Wash-out and binding effects seem to be of minor importance for the uptake.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Radiation Hygiene, Osterås, Norway.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Selnaes
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strand
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D001692:Biological Transport; D002586:Cesium / Q000378:metabolism; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D005843:Geography; D009664:Norway; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D009689:Nuclear Warfare; D006109:Poaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D002586:Cesium