To study radiostrontium (RSr) and radiocesium (RCs)
aging in soils, three sequential extraction schemes were
used on Mediterranean loamy and loam-sandy soils, podsols
and peaty podsols from the area near Chernobyl, and
peats from Western Europe. Aging was quantified by changes
in radionuclide distribution. Two factors were thought to
affect radionuclide distribution: time elapsed since
contamination and drying−wetting cycles. Changes in
radionuclide distribution were of low significance in
Mediterranean loamy and loam-sandy soils in the short
term, even after drying−wetting cycles. In the short term,
podsols and peaty podsols showed a decrease in the
RSr exchangeable fraction in the laboratory samples (20−25% decrease), whereas samples taken 6 years after
contamination did not show any further decrease. For RCs
in podsols and peaty-podsols, the application of drying−wetting cycles for 9 months led to observe a 2−3-fold decrease
in the exchangeable fraction, whereas time alone did
not lead to any change. No RCs aging was observed in
peats with a low or almost negligible content of mineral
matter, low base saturation and low interception potential
for RCs, even after drying−wetting cycles. Finally,
changes in the radionuclide exchangeable fraction over
time in these soils corresponded to changes in transfer
factors over a similar period.
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