Determination of barium, lanthanum, and cerium contents in soils by the X-ray radiometric method

Abstract

A methodological approach for determining barium, lanthanum, and cerium contents with the use of an 241Am isotope source was suggested. The new method was applied for obtaining data on the geochemistry of Ba, La, and Ce in soils of humid landscapes. The high content of La and Ce was determined in cryozems of the Kolyma Lowland. In alluvial soils of Perm’, barium was identified in rhyzoconcretions in the form of barium sulfate of probably technogenic origin. In the gleyed agrozem on the Mulyanka River floodplain, the redistribution of barium in the soil profile and its concentration in iron nodules were detected. The contents of La and Ce in the fine earth of contaminated soils remained stable, and lanthanides were accumulated in concretions: the coefficient of La accumulation was 3.5 and that of Ce was 6.9. The mean accumulation coefficients of the elements in the studied soils were as follows: Ce (3.7) > Ba (3.0) > La (2.2).