title: In situ measurements of the sub-surface gamma dose from Chernobyl fallout.
abstract: Methods of estimating external radiation exposure of soil-dwelling organisms are currently of much research and regulatory interest. In this paper, we report the first in situ measurements of the sub-surface gamma dose rate for 137Cs contaminated land that quantify variation in dose rate with depth. Two contrasting sites have been investigated. The first site comprised a mineral type soil with a low percentage of organic matter and the second site chosen was in a peat-bog. The different soil compositions afford different 137Cs mobility and this results in variations in the measured gamma dose-rate with soil depth. For each site the paper reports the measured dose rates, the 137Cs activity depth profile, the 137Cs inventory and a description of the soil-characteristics. It is suggested that these data can be used to produce estimates of the sub-surface gamma dose rate in other sites of 137Cs contamination.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environment Science (SEES), University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK. david.timms@port.ac.uk
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Timms
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coe
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kudelsky
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Yankov
mesh_terms: D005720:Gamma Rays; D011210:Power Plants; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive