Abstract
Radiocarbon ( 14 C) was used to study the origin and transport of aquatic humic substances in river waters at the Chernobyl area, which received a pulse input of 14 C as a consequence of the nuclear accident. Water samples were collected in April 1999 from the Pripyat and Sakhan Rivers, which flow through the radioactive contaminated area (30 km exclusion zone). The Δ 14 C values of humic and fulvic acids ranged from −68‰ to +75‰ and were ∼400‰ lower than those of non-contaminated environments. The aquatic humic substances may be derived mainly from those of bog, peat, and podzolic soil with older 14 C age, and thereby reflect a larger proportion of older groundwater humic substances. Contribution of 14 C by the Chernobyl accident appears to be small because of the long residence time of organic carbon at the surface soil.
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