Abstract
More than 2000 wood samples taken in the Belarusian part of the Chernobyl exclusion zone since 2005 were analyzed for activity concentrations of 90Sr and 137Сs. The data obtained demonstrated a difference in the uptake of 90Sr by wood from that of 137Сs. It was shown that the absorbance of 90Sr by wood has a cumulative character. It differs from 137Сs absorbance because utilization (taking out) of 137Сs occurs substantially more easily. That difference is supported by experimental data on the distribution of firewood samples with activity concentrations of the radionuclides and the dependence of their transfer factor values on time.
Comparison of the transfer factor values recorded in our work with literature data shows that our data are characterized by higher values with plateaus occurring over a longer time than in the case of the Kyshtym accident. It could be supposed that more time is necessary for escape of 90Sr, which initially was included in the matrix of fuel particles of Chernobyl origin. A significant difference between the 137Cs and 90Sr transfer factors in pine wood was shown by use of statistical analysis. The same result was achieved in a comparison of 90Sr transfer factors in pine wood with those in wood from other species.
According to the data received, combustion of firewood produced in the exclusion zone results in accumulation of the ash, part of which could be regarded as radioactive waste in terms of its 137Cs and 90Sr content.
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Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to the collaborators in the laboratory of spectrometry and radiochemistry (N. Dzemenkavets, E. Kalyhan, A. Masheuski, M. Rudzianok, and N. Tsishkevich), who participated in the experiments. Special thanks also go to N. Blinova for record keeping of the data and their systematization.
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Zabrotski, V. (2018). Contamination of Firewood Taken from the Exclusion Zone of the Chernobyl NPP by 90Sr According to Data from 2005–2016. In: Gupta, D., Walther , C. (eds) Behaviour of Strontium in Plants and the Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66574-0_8
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