Distribution of 137Cs in soil along Ta-han River Valley in Tau-Yuan County in Taiwan.
Environmental 137Cs contamination was suspected from accidents at spent fuel storage pits of a research reactor site in the Ta-han River valley in Taiwan. In order to further characterize this contamination, soil samples were collected and measured by a gamma-spectroscopy system in 1999. It was found that 137Cs contamination is distributed up to 4 km from the reactor in an area covered mostly by rice and plant fields. 137Cs concentration in the topsoil ranged up to about 1000 Bq kg-1, as compared with soil beyond the contaminated area, which does not exceed 15 Bq kg-1. Spatial distribution of 137Cs was characterized by strong non-uniformity, which complicated our understanding of the distribution pathway of the radionuclides. The highest concentrations of 137Cs, up to more than 1000 Bq kg-1, were found within a few rice fields. The relative location of these rice fields and the water supplies from local streams suggested that the 137Cs was distributed along water pathways in the valley.
Nabyvanets
Y B
YB
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, 155 Li-non st, Section 2, Shih-Pai, Taipei 11200, Taiwan.
Gesell
T F
TF
Jen
M H
MH
Chang
W P
WP
D000383:Agriculture; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013624:Taiwan
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive