Lm. Kagan et Vb. Kadatsky, DEPTH MIGRATION OF CHERNOBYL ORIGINATED CS-137 AND SR-90 IN SOILS OF BYELARUS, Journal of environmental radioactivity, 33(1), 1996, pp. 27-39
Depth migration of Cs-137 and Sr-90 was studied in soils of reference
sites that have different environmental characteristics and are situat
ed in all four radiogeochemical regions of Belarus. The parameters as
used were: the fraction of the nuclide inventory below a depth of 2 cm
; the fraction of the nuclide inventory below a depth of 5 cm; and the
thickness of the top soil layer containing 90% of the nuclide invento
ry. Despite the apparent differences in the nuclide migration at vario
us sites, some common tendencies were observed. During the first 3-5 y
ears after the accident, the Sr-90 depth migration at several watershe
d and terrace sites did not exceed that of Cs-137. About 5-15% of the
nuclide inventories are below the depth of 5 cm, and 90% are contained
in the top 3-7 cm soil layer. However, at the floodplain reference si
tes, a pronounced tendency for a higher migration rate of Sr-90 was re
vealed. Less than 5% of the Cs-137 inventory but about 5-30% of the Sr
-90 inventory are below 5 cm, and the top soil layer containing 90% of
hte nuclide inventory is 1-2 cm thicker for Sr-90. Copyright (C) 1996
Elsevier Science Limited