K. Bunzl et W. Kracke, FATE OF FALLOUT PLUTONIUM AND AMERICIUM IN THE ENVIRONMENT - SELECTEDEXAMPLES, Journal of alloys and compounds, 213, 1994, pp. 212-218
At present, several isotopes of Pu and Am are in the biosphere as a re
sult of above-ground nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s. Eve
n though their concentrations in most environmental samples are extrem
ely low, they can be determined if methods are developed which allow c
onvenient disintegration of very large samples before radiochemical an
alysis. In this way, information on the long-term behavior of actinide
s in the biosphere can be obtained under ideal natural conditions. The
selected examples discussed here involve investigations on the follow
ing: (1) the filter effect of coniferous trees for Pu and Am during th
eir dry deposition; (2) the rate of vertical migration of Pu and Am in
the different soil horizons of forest and grassland soils; (3) the tr
ansfer of Pu and Am from soil to flour and bran from cereals; (4) the
enrichment of Pu in some types of honey; (5) Pu and Am in the tissues
of the general population in Germany.