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Abstract:The constant rate of supply (CRS) of excess 210 Pb model was successfully applied to assess 210 Pb data of two sediment cores from the lake Qattinah, Syria. Gamma spectrometry was used to determine 137 Cs and 210 Pb activity concentrations. The bottom of the cores was 210 Pb-dated to years 1907 and 1893. The accumulation rates were determined using 210 Pb method and found to vary similarly in both cores from 0.10 ± 0.01 to 3.78 ± 0.57 kg m -2 y -1 during the past century. 137 Cs was used as an independent chronometer. The two distinct peaks observed on the 137 Cs record of both cores, corresponding to 1965 and 1986, have allowed a successful validation of the CRS model.

This paper presents measurements of cesium 137 ((137)Cs) in the Syrian environment during the period between 2006 and 2010. More than 1,000 samples of soil, water, plants and aquatic life were collected from different locations. The measurements were realized using gamma spectroscopy, and the results showed that radioactivity concentrations were low overall. Concentrations ranged from below detection limits to several tens Bq kg(-1) (dry matter) or 9.8 mBq L(-1) (water), which were well below maximum allowable levels in food or drinking water as established according to Syrian national standards or the WHO/FAO Codex guidelines. However, high (137)Cs activity levels were observed in soil samples collected at a high elevation (Kadmous highs), where a mean concentration of 1,900 Bq kg(-1) was obtained.

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