Distribution characteristics of radionuclides (137Cs, 239+240Pu, 237Np, and 241Am) in vertical vegetation zone in Changbai Mountain, China

Huang, Chien-Chin; Guan, Yao; Wang, Deyu; Wang, Shenzhen; Jing, Qiaoyan; Zhang, Shuai; Li, Yong

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2023.107017

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The simultaneous occurrence of erosion and accumulation, rather than in a unidirectional manner like that at point B, is the underlying cause of this phenomenon. Vegetation plays a crucial role in this process by influencing the deposition behavior of radionuclides through alterations in soil organic matter content . Lin et al demonstrated a direct correlation between the active concentration of 239+240 Pu and the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of organic matter.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…50 g pretreat sample was sealed into a cylindrical container (Φ50 × 25 mm) for gamma decay measurement, and the measurement time for each sample was 24 h. The selected interest interval energy and detection efficiency of the radionuclides 137 Cs and 210 Pb are 661.66 keV, 1.6% and 46.52 keV, 1.3%, respectively. The detection limits of these two radionuclides are 0.2 and 3.7 Bq/kg, respectively . NIST-4357 was used as a reference material for quality assurance.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vegetation plays a crucial role in this process by influencing the deposition behavior of radionuclides through alterations in soil organic matter content. 31 Lin et al 54 demonstrated a direct correlation between the active concentration of 239+240 Pu and the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of organic matter. In soils with high levels of organic matter, plutonium primarily associates with organic compounds, rendering it less susceptible to leaching by water.…”

Section: Effect Of Erosion On Migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The detection limits of these two radionuclides are 0.2 and 3.7 Bq/ kg, respectively. 31 NIST-4357 was used as a reference material for quality assurance. Other measured natural nuclides, such as 238 U, 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K, are provided in the Supporting Information.…”

Section: Measurement Of 137mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The result exhibited similarity to the soil samples obtained from the Changbai Mountain forest (22 ± 17). 31 The global sedimentation activity ratio of 137 Cs/ 239+240 Pu is 22.8 ± 2.4 (corrected to September 2021). However, the areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident and Chernobyl significantly exceed this value significantly.…”

Section: Source Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migration of Fallout Radionuclides and Soil Erosion of Hongsongwa Mountainous in China

Guan,

Cui,

Huang

et al. 2024

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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To study the effect of soil erosion on the distribution and migration pattern of radionuclides, the levels of 239+240 Pu and 137 Cs in alpine meadow soil were measured in the Hongsongwa Nature Reserve, Hebei Province. The measured activities of 239+240 Pu and 137 Cs in surface soil ranged from 0.028 to 2.781 Bq/kg and from 1.3 to 59.8 Bq/kg, respectively. The distribution of 137 Cs and 239+240 Pu is uneven and significantly correlated with the organic matter content and altitude variations within the study area. Core samples were collected from both ridge and valley locations to assess erosion rates, revealing that ridge areas experienced approximately 2.5 times higher erosion rates (18.0 t ha −l a −1 ) compared to valleys (7.3 t ha −l a −1 ). The vertical migration behavior of 239+240 Pu and 137 Cs was quantitatively described by a convection-diffusion equation model. Results indicated that core samples taken from the ridge displayed significantly higher apparent diffusion coefficients (D Cs = 4.57 cm 2 /y; D Pu = 2.42 cm 2 /y) as well as apparent convection coefficient (ν Cs = 0.31 cm/y; ν Pu = 0.43 cm/y), which were approximately 10 and 2 times those observed in reference sample (D Cs = 0.33 cm 2 /y; D Pu = 0.32 cm 2 /y; ν Cs = 0.16 cm/y; ν Pu = 0.17 cm/y), respectively. The migration rate of 239+240 Pu is accelerated by 39% compared to that of 137 Cs due to soil erosion. The diffusion and convection rates of both isotopes in the valley sample are similar to those in the reference sample. In general, soil erosion significantly affects the horizontal and vertical migration of 239+240 Pu and 137 Cs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%