Chemical availability of 137Cs and 90Sr in undisturbed lysimeter soils maintained under controlled and close-to-real conditions

Abstract

Chemical availability of 137Cs and 90Sr was determined in four undisturbed soils in a lysimeter study three and four years after deposition to the soil surface. The study was part of a larger project on radionuclide soil–plant interactions under well-defined conditions. The soil types were loam, silt loam, sandy loam and loamy sand, and were representatives of important European soil and climatic conditions. The lysimeters were installed in greenhouses with climatic and hydrological control, and were contaminated with 137Cs and 90Sr in an aerosol mixture simulating fallout from a nuclear accident. Soil samples were taken from several depths in each soil in 1997 and 1998 and the samples were sequentially extracted with H 2O, NH 4Ac, NH 2OH·HCl, H 2O 2 and HNO 3. Extractability of 137Cs decreased in the order: HNO 3>Residual⩾NH 4Ac>H 2O 2⩾NH 2OH·HCl⩾H 2O. More than 80% was found in the acid digestible or residual fractions, and 11–17% in labile fractions. Soil type differences were small. Extractability of 90Sr decreased in the order: NH 4Ac>NH 2OH·HCl>HNO 3>H 2O 2≈H 2O. 31–58% was found in easily available fractions. Differences between soil types were quite small. The results suggest that availability of 137Cs for plant uptake and migration is low, whereas availability of 90Sr is rather high.