Geochemical fractionation and bioavailability of 241Am, 60Co and 137Cs in Fluvisol soil after sharp temperature variation before the growing season

Abstract

This paper deals with the influence of sharp temperature variations on the geochemical fractionation and bioavailability of 241Am, 60Co and 137Cs in Fluvisol soil. The study was performed using soil contaminated with aqueous solutions of 241Am, 60Co and 137Cs in the laboratory and stored for three years at temperatures within the range of 10–18 oC and soil moisture from 20 to 30 wt %. Afterward the soil was divided into three equal parts and conditioned for one month at 10–18 oC, −18 oC and 40 oC temperature regimes, respectively. The impact of the storage conditions on geochemical forms of the radionuclides was investigated using single extraction of exchangeable 137Cs with 1 M NH4NO3 and sequential extraction of 241Am and 60Co, and by gamma-spectrometric measurement. The influence of temperature rise up to 40 oC over a period of one month on the transfer factors (TFs) of the radionuclides from the investigated soil to orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) was evaluated. The results showed that deep free...