title: Deposition of artificial radionuclides from atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests estimated by soil inventories in French areas low-impacted by Chernobyl.
abstract: Soil inventories of anthropogenic radionuclides were investigated in altitudinal transects in 2 French regions, Savoie and Montagne Noire. Rain was negligible in these 2 areas the days after the Chernobyl accident. Thus anthropogenic radionuclides are coming hypothetically only from Global Fallout following Atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests. This is confirmed by the isotopic signatures ((238)Pu/(239+240)Pu; (137)Cs/(239+240)Pu; and (241)Am/(239+240)Pu) close to Global Fallout value. In Savoie, a peat core age-dated by (210)Pb(ex) confirmed that the main part of deposition of anthropogenic radionuclides occurred during the late sixties and the early seventies. In agreement with previous studies, the anthropogenic radionuclide inventories are well correlated with the annual precipitations. However, this is the first time that a study investigates such a large panel of annual precipitation and therefore of anthropogenic radionuclide deposition. It seems that at high-altitude sites, deposition of artificial radionuclides was higher possibly due to orographic precipitations.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Radioprotection et Sûreté Nucléaire, DEI/SESURE, Laboratoires d'Etudes Radioécologiques en milieu Continental et Marin, CEN Cadarache Bât. 153 BP 3, 13115 St Paul lez Durance, France. gael.leroux@ensat.f
authors.forename: Gaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Le Roux
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duffa
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vray
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Renaud
mesh_terms: D000576:Americium / Q000032:analysis; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D002980:Climate; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D011891:Rain; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil; D011005:Plutonium; D000576:Americium