Atmospheric fallout radionuclides in peatland from Southern Poland

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volumes 175–176
Author(s): Tomasz Mróz, Edyta Łokas, Justyna Kocurek, Michał Gąsiorek
Two peat profiles were collected in a peat bog located in Southern Poland and their geochronology were determined using ²¹⁰Pb, ^238,239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs radiometric techniques. The ²¹⁰Pb chronologies were established using the constant rate of supply model (CRS) and are in good agreement with the Pu isotopes and ¹³⁷Cs time markers. Maximum activities of Pu isotopes were found at a depth corresponding to the early 1960s, which is the period characterized by the maximum nuclear weapon tests. The results showed that the ²¹⁰Pb method is the most accurate technique for the determination age and accumulation rate of a peat. The next part of this study calculated linear accumulation rates by analyzing ^238,239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs vertical distributions in the profiles. Activities of fallout isotopes were also measured in plants covering the peatland. The highest activities of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb were found in Calluna vulgaris samples, and ^239+240Pu were found only in two samples (C. vulgaris and leaves of Oxycoccus quadripelatus).



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