The environmental half-lives and mean residence times of contaminants in dust for an urban environment: Barrow-in-Furness.
Radiocaesium contamination of dusts from external (road and school yards) and internal (house) environments within Barrow-in-Furness was found to be derived from the primary input event of Chernobyl fallout. The specific activity of radiocaesium in the dust reservoirs studied, decreased exponentially, enabling environmental half-lives to be calculated (190-370 day). The broad similarity of these half-lives indicated that secondary contamination processes, such as atmospheric deposition of resuspended dust, cause all the internal and external reservoirs to be linked into a system encompassing much of Barrow-in-Furness. Mean residence times of external dust were derived from the calculated environmental half-lives and measurements of atmospheric deposition (150-250 day). These mean residence times are dependent on local processes and are thus site specific, whilst the environmental half-lives represent an integration of all the processes operating in Barrow-in-Furness.
Allott
R W
RW
Institute of Environmental & Biological Sciences, University of Lancaster, Bailrigg, U.K.
Hewitt
C N
CN
Kelly
M R
MR
D000059:Accidents; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D002980:Climate; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004739:England; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008834:Microclimate; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D014455:Ukraine; D014505:Urban Population
D000393:Air Pollutants; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D004391:Dust