THE SKIM AND BURIAL PLOW - A NEW IMPLEMENT FOR RECLAMATION OF RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED LAND

Radionuclides accidentally released to the atmosphere in severe nuclea r accidents can give rise to widespread radioactive contamination of l and If no remedial action is taken, the contamination may constitute a long-term external radiation hazard. Similarly, agricultural and dair y produce from the contaminated land may be a source of internal radia tion. A newly developed agricultural implement named the 'skim and bur ial' plough has been built and tested and shown to be an effective cou ntermeasure against both of these potential hazards but without the di sadvantages of some other land reclamation methods. The new plough ski ms off a shallow layer of the contaminated top soil and buries it at a depth of about 45 cm without inverting the 5-45 cm horizon. The resul ts are that radiation levels at the soil surface are greatly reduced t he contamination becomes much less available for plant uptake and in m ost cases there is little or no effect on soil quality. The efficacy o f the new plough has been demonstrated under particularly severe field conditions. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited