SREL Reprint #2729

Reduction of Crop Contamination by Soil Resuspension within the 30-km Zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Teresa Sauras-Yera1, Joana Tent2, Yuri Ivanov3, T. G. Hinton4, Gemma Rauret2, and Ramon Vallejo1,5

1Departament Biologia Vegetal, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
2Departament Química Analítica, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
3Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology, 7, Mashinostritelej St, vil. Chabany, Kiev, Ukraine
4Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29801
5CEAM, Parque Tecnológico, Charles Darwin 14, E-46980 Paterna, Spain

Abstract: A field experiment was conducted within the 30-km zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to analyze whether the application of mulching reduced resuspension of 137Cs contaminated soil in oat (Avena sativa) crops. In 1993, we applied a mulch treatment at a dose of 200 g m-2, and soil resuspension was measured by estimating soil loadings onto plant surfaces from Ti concentrations in plants. In 1994, two mulch doses were applied, 200 and 50 g m-2, and we estimated the contribution of soil resuspension by using artificial resuspension collection devices (ARC). In the 1993 experiment between 4.6 and 34.4% of the plant's total 137Cs contamination was attributed to external soil contamination. The mean amount of soil-derived 137Cs attached to vegetation was 124.7 Bq kg-1plant in control plots and 53.7 Bq kg-1plant in mulched plots. In the 1994 experiment, covering the soil with a mulch layer decreased the radiocesium content in ARC by about 70%. Results obtained in these experiments suggest that soil resuspension was a significant mechanism for plant contamination and that mulching was effective in reducing that contamination.

SREL Reprint #2729

Sauras-Yera, T., J. Tent, Y. Ivanov, T. G. Hinton, G. Rauret, and R. Vallejo. 2003. Reduction of crop contamination by soil resuspension within the 30-km zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental Science & Technology 37:4592-4596.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).