Distribution of natural and artificial radionuclides in chernozem soil/crop system from stationary experiments

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the determination of radiological characteristics of cultivated chernozem soil and crops from long-term field experiments, taking into account the importance of distribution and transfer of radionuclides in the soil-plant system, especially in agricultural cropland. The investigation was performed on the experimental fields where maize, winter wheat, and rapeseed were cultivated. Analysis of radioactivity included determination of the gross alpha and beta activity as a screening method, as well as the activities of the following radionuclides: natural ((210)Pb, (235)U, (238)U, (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K, (7)Be) and artificial ((90)Sr and (137)Cs). The activities of natural and artificial ((137)Cs) radionuclides were determined by gamma spectrometry, while the artificial radionuclide (90)Sr was determined by a radiochemical analytical method. Based on the obtained results for the specific activity of (40)K, (137)Cs, and (90)Sr, accumulation factors for these radionuclides were calculated in order to estimate transfer of radionuclides from soil to crops. The results of performed analyses showed that there is no increase of radioactivity that could endanger the food production through the grown crops.

Distribution of Natural Radionuclides and 137Cs in Urban Soil Samples from the City of Novi Sad, Serbia-Radiological Risk Assessment

“…The results presented for the activity concentrations of radionuclides in Belgrade soil samples and the samples from Belgrade municipalities Lazarevac and Obrenovac [53] show very similar results to this work. In addition, there was no significant difference between the radioactivity content in uncultivated soil (this work) and cultivated agricultural soil systems in the Novi Sad city [47] and Belgrade [13].…”

“…In the case of undisturbed or uncultivated soil, the concentration of 137 Cs is generally higher in the surface profile (0-10 cm depth) and the migration is slow. The disturbed soil redistribution of this radionuclide is associated with mechanical mixing [23,47]. In [48], the radioactivity of soil samples in Vojvodina (the northern province of Serbia), including Novi Sad city, in 2001 and 2010 was examined.…”