Biosorption of radionuclides by Rhizopus arrhizus

The sorption of various radionuclides viz. 233U, 239Pu, 241Am, 144Ce, 147Pm, 152+154Eu and 95Zr from aqueous nitrate medium has been studied using biomass Rhizopus arrhizus. The biosorption of 233U and 239Pu was found to be maximum at pH 6-7 whereas for other trivalent actinides and fission products viz. 241Am, 144Ce, 147Pm, 152+154Eu and tetravalent 95Zr, it was more effective at pH 2. This biomass is a promising sorbant for the treatment of radioactive effluents from nuclear industry. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Long-term development of the radionuclide exposure of murine rodent populations in Belarus after the Chernobyl accident

As a determinant of the associated health risks, the behavior of radionuclides in natural ecosystems needs to be better understood. Therefore, the activity concentration of various long-lived radionuclides released due to the Chernobyl accident, and the corresponding contributions to the whole-body dose rate, was studied as a function of time in mammalian indicator species inhabiting the natural forest ecosystems of Belarus, the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) and the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollus). The activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ⁹⁰Sr, ²³⁸Pu, ^239,240Pu, ²⁴¹Pu and ²⁴¹Am in soil and in animals were measured at five monitoring sites with different ground deposition of radionuclides at different distances from the destroyed reactor. The observed temporal pattern of the radionuclide activity concentration in the studied animal populations reflects the changes in biological availability of these isotopes for biota, mostly due to fuel particle destruction and appearance of dissolved and exchangeable forms of radionuclides. The time course of ^134+137Cs activity concentrations in animal populations appeared as a sequence of increase, peak and decrease. Maximal levels of radiocesium occurred 1–2 years after deposition, followed by an exponential decrease. Concentrations of incorporated ⁹⁰Sr increased up to the tenth year after deposition. The activity concentrations of transuranic elements (²³⁸Pu, ^239,240Pu, ²⁴¹Pu and ²⁴¹Am) were much lower than those of the other radionuclides, in the studied animals. A considerable activity of ²⁴¹Am in animals from areas with high levels of contamination was firstly detected 5 years after deposition, it increased up to the tenth year and is expected to increase further in the future. Maximal values of the whole-body absorbed dose rates occurred during the year of deposition, followed by a decrease in the subsequent period. Generally, this decrease was monotonic, mainly determined by the decrease of the external γ-ray dose rate, but there were exceptions due to the delayed maximum of internal exposure. The inter-individual distributions of radionuclide concentrations and lifetime whole-body absorbed doses were asymmetric and close to log-normal, including concentrations and doses considerably higher than the population mean values.     

Sorption of plutonium, americium and fission products from reprocessing effluents using Rhizopus arrhizus

Rhizopus arrhizus biomass removed more than 95% of 239Pu, 241Am, 95Zr, 144Ce and 152+154Eu from different waste streams generated in Purex as well as Truex processes after suitable adjustment of pH. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

The use of fallout 137Cs and 239,240Pu for dating of lake sediments

The distribution of ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu in sediment core samples of the Finnish lakes Laukunlampi, Lovojärvi and Pääjärvi were determined. The sediment samples were collected using dry ice and liquid nitrogen freezing methods. The sediments of these lakes are annually laminated. A clear maximum concentration of ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu was found in sediment layers formed during 1962–1964, the years of maximum fallout, and the middle of the 1950's can be estimated from the ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu profiles. The highest concentrations, 11 500 and 820 pCi kg^–1 dry wt for ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu, respectively, were found in the sediment of Laukunlampi. The vertical distribution was similar for ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu in the lakes investigated. A slight migration of ^239,240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs was found and the migration of ¹³⁷Cs seems to be higher than that of ^239,240Pu. The advantages of ¹³⁷Cs dating method are rapidity and simplicity. ^239,240Pu is preferable when the sample size is small. The agreement found between ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu dates and the annual laminae show that these fallout radio isotopes can be used for dating sediments formed during the past 25 years.     

The distribution of the radionuclides in the main components of lake ecosystems within the Chernobyl NPP exclusion zone

The results of the studies devoted to the distribution of radionuclides 90Sr, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239 + 240Pu and 241Am in 1998-2003 in main components of Glubokoe Lake and Dalekoe-1 Lake located within Krasnensky flood lands of the Pripyat River (inner exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP) were analysed. The data about the radionuclide content in bottom sediments, in water, in seston, in macrozoobenthos (including bivalvia molluscs), in gasteropods molluscs, in higher aquatic plants and in fish are presented.     

Estimation of rate constant for dissolution of radioactive fuel particles

Some theoretical of the experimental investigation of solubility of radioactive aerosols were examined. Filters, which were exposed during October-November 1987 in Pripyat town, were studied. Measurements on 22 November 1987 showed that an activity in the air was 12.1-20.8 mBq/m3 for 137Cs, 34.9-89.3 mBq/m-3 for 144Ce, 24.3-30.5 mBq/m-3 for 106Ru. Disperse structure of aerosol hot particles and the number of hot particles on each filter fragment was estimated by radiography. To determine a dissolution rate constant a static system with two 0.14 micron pore size membrane MFE filters (Dubna, Russia) enclosing fragments of Petryanov filters was selected. The composition was held in Gamble's solution lung fluid anf then in 0.1 mol/l HCl as dastic juice simulation. The activity of 90Sr, 238Pu, 239 + 240Pu, 241Am and 244Cm in aerosol filters and solutions was measured by radiochemical methods. It was shown that leaching of radionuclides from aerosol hot particles in lung fluid simulation decreases in line 137Cs > 90Sr > 239 + 240Pu > or = 241Am, depending om particle diameter and time. Dissolution constants were presented. Dissolution of aerosol particles in 0.1 mol/l HCl is also shown (dissolution time was 3 days). A radionuclide transition to HCl solution decreases in line 90Am 241Am > 137Cs > 239 + 240Pu. A transition degree reached 21% for 90Sr and extraction of 241Am was 3-17%.     

Plutonium,241Am,90sr,and137cs concentrations in some antarctic matrices

A radioecological survey in Antarctica shows that the^239+240Pu,²³⁸Pu,²⁴¹Am,⁹⁰Sr, and¹³⁷Cs activities were detectable in nearly all the samples. The activity level of^239+240Pu,²⁴¹Am, and¹³⁷Cs in antarctic sediments was about 5–20 times lower than in the northern Adriatic Sea sediments, but the²³⁸Pu activities were relatively high. It was interesting to note that the⁹⁰Sr concentrations in all the sediments tended to be low, which could be the result of the easier exchangeable behavior of⁹⁰Sr in water. High concentrations were detected in mosses and lichens and their activity levels were comparable to those in central Italy. The radionuclide ratio analyses show that the major part of^239+240Pu,²⁴¹Am,⁹⁰Sr, and¹³⁷Cs was a result of nuclear weapon tests. The higher²⁴¹Am/^239+240Pu ratio was observed and it could perhaps be the result of fallout of nuclear weapon tests prior to 1962. The²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu ratio in the antarctic matrices was about seven times higher than in the Northern hemisphere and it could be inferred that the major part of²³⁸Pu was originating from the SNAP-9A satellite accident.     

241Am dating of lake sediments

²⁴¹Am derived from decay of fallout ²⁴¹Pu is now frequently detected in analyses of lake sediments by low-background gamma assay, and offers an alternative to weapons test ¹³⁷Cs in dating recent sediments at those sites where the ¹³⁷Cs record has been degraded by post-depositional mobility or obliterated by Chernobyl fallout. Calculations of the in-growth of ²⁴¹Am from ²⁴¹Pu indicate a nominal distribution broadly similar to that of ¹³⁷Cs, with the maximum ²⁴¹Am activity occuring in fallout dating from 1963. Results from a number of sites suggest that ²⁴¹Am is significantly less mobile in lake sediments than ¹³⁷Cs, and that its distribution in cores reflects more closely the fallout record. Since further decay of existing weapons debris will increase ²⁴¹Am concentrations by about 24% over the next 40 years, ²⁴¹Am is likely to play an increasingly important role in assessing the validity of ²¹⁰Pb dates at sites with varying sediment accumulation rates.     

Organic forms of artificial radionuclide compounds in soil solutions from natural biogeocenosis

The date on the distribution of the main radiologicaly important polutants of biosphera (90Sr, 137Cs, 239 + 240Pu, 238Pu, 241Am) over the molecular mass fractions of organic matter in the soil solutions of natural environments are presented. Molecular mass constitution and radionuclide content in the fractions are dependent on radionuclide nature and type of soil and change along the soil profile. The major portion of 238Pu, 239 + 240Pu and 241Am (72-98%) was bound with organic matter in the soil solutions. In the case of organic horizons, these radionuclides were selectively connected with the fractions of high molecular masses (MMw > or = 2000). Radiostrontium is present principally in the fraction of inorganic compounds (19-100%) and in the low molecular mass fraction of organic matter (MMw = 350-500). A selective interaction of 137Cs with organic matter of definite molecular masses was not observed. The radionuclide was found in the "organic" fractions of a wide range of molecular masses (MMw from 350-500 to > or = 18,000) (34-97%) as well as in the fraction of inorganic compounds. The data obtained can provide the theoretical basis for explanation of higher mobility of 90Sr in soil profiles compared to other radionuclides.     

90Sr, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239+240Pu,and 241Am radionuclides in macrophytes within the Krasnensky flood plain: species specificity of concentration and distribution in phytocenosis components

The analysis of the content of radionuclides 90Sr, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239 + 240Pu and 241Am in water vegetation of flood plain reservoirs has allowed studing features of radionuclide accumulation by various species of macrophytes and revealing bioindicators of radionuclide contamination. Thus species-specificity of radionuclide accumulation can essentially change the contribution of different species to a percentage ratio of the radionuclide content in phytomass of reservoirs in comparison with fund of higher aquatic plants.     

Solubility of airborne radioactive fuel particles from the Chernobyl reactor and implication to dose

Airborne particles of nuclear fuel from the Chernobyl reactor that had been collected on air filters and stored, were characterised using in vitro dissolution tests to assess effective doses after their inhalation. As solvent, the Gamble biological fluid was used to simulate lung fluid. The solubility of the measured radionuclides decreased in the order ¹³⁷Cs>⁹⁰Sr>>²⁴¹Am^239+240Pu in the simulated lung fluid. The dissolution rate constant of e.g. ^239+249Pu ranged from 0.72 to 5.4×10^–6 g·cm^–2 d^–1 and decreased (for all nuclides) with increasing particle size as predicted from theoretical considerations. Considering the inhalation dose, decreasing dose with size and increasing doses with lower solubility may partly counterbalance each other for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr. On the other hand, for ²³⁹Pu and ²⁴¹Am larger particles and associated lower solubility both change the resulting dose in the same direction towards lower values. The comparison of the experimentally determined dose coefficients with ICRP values indicates that nuclear fuel particles closely resemble type M material characteristics for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr and type S material characteristics for ²³⁹Pu and ²⁴¹Am.     

Carcinogenic effects of combined exposure to 241Am and gamma-radiation

In experiments on Wistar rats a study was made of the carcinogenic effects of the combined exposure to 241Am administered intraperitoneally (6.7 to 229.4 kBq/kg body weight) and external gamma-radiation (137Cs, 175 cGy). The occurrence of osteosarcoma, leucosis, skin and mammary tumors increased in the exposed animals. The combined irradiation produced an additive carcinogenic effect.     

Quantitative evaluation of 90Sr, 137Cs, 239Pu, 241Am transfer from polluted soil to gastric and intestine juice of cows

Quantitative parameters of 90Sr, 137Cs, 239Pu and 241Am transfer from solid phase of soil to gastric, intestine juice of cows as well as to imitating solutions have been estimated on the base of results of laboratory incubation experiments. A prevailing role of enzyme complex and microflora of gastrointestinal tract in radionuclides transfer from solid phase of soil to solution has been shown.     

Reconstruction of local fallout composition and gamma-ray exposure in a village contaminated by the first USSR nuclear test in the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan

After the disintegration of the USSR in end of 1991, it became possible for foreign scientists to visit Kazakhstan, in order to investigate the radiological consequences of nuclear explosions that had been conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (SNTS). Since the first visit in 1994, our group has been continuing expeditions for soil sampling at various areas around SNTS. The current level of local fallout at SNTS was studied through γ-spectrometry for ¹³⁷Cs as well as α-spectrometry for ^239,240Pu. Average values of soil inventory from wide areas around SNTS were 3,500 and 3,700 Bq m^?2 for ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu, respectively, as of January 1, 2000. The average level of ¹³⁷Cs is comparable to that in Japan due to global fallout, while the level of ^239,240Pu is several tens of times larger than that in Japan. Areas of strong contamination were found along the trajectories of radioactive fallout, information on which was declassified after the collapse of the USSR. Our recent efforts of soil sampling were concentrated on the area around the Dolon village heavily affected by the radioactive plume from the first USSR atomic bomb test in 1949 and located 110 km east from ground zero of the explosion. Using soil inventory data, retrospective dosimetry was attempted by reconstructing γ-ray exposure from fission product nuclides deposited on the ground. Adopting representative parameters for the initial ¹³⁷Cs deposition (13 kBq m^?2), the refractory/volatile deposition ratio (3.8) and the plume arrival time after explosion (2.5 h), an absorbed dose in air of 600 mGy was obtained for the 1-year cumulative dose in Dolon village, due to the first bomb test in 1949. Considering possible ranges of the parameters, 350 and 910 mGy were estimated for high and low cases of γ-ray dose in air, respectively. It was encouraging that the deduced value was consistent with other estimations using thermal luminescence and archived monitoring data. The present method can be applied to other settlements affected by local fallout from SNTS.     

Deposition and transport of radionuclides within an upland drainage basin in mid-Wales

The deposition of radiocaesium from nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident upon the Llyn Llygad Rheidol catchment in mid-Wales is described. Inventories of soil cores from the catchment support estimates of total atmospheric fallout. The mean inventory of weapons testing ¹³⁷Cs in lake sediment cores is broadly similar to that in soil cores. The inventory of Chernobyl fallout in sediment cores is significantly lower and raises questions concerning the residence time of ¹³⁷Cs in the catchment soils and lake waters. ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am activities in a sediment core record the 1963 peak of fallout from nuclear weapons testing. The association of the peak activities of ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am in the sediments with the falloot maximum is confirmed by ²¹⁰Pb dating. The ²¹⁰Pb dates also reveal a significant increase in sediment accumulation rates over the past 20 years.     

Radionuclide transfer to marine biota species: review of Russian language studies

An extensive programme of experiments on transfer of radionuclides to aquatic species was conducted in the former USSR starting from the early 1950s. Only a few of these studies were made available in the English language literature or taken into account in international reviews of radionuclide behaviour in marine ecosystems. Therefore, an overview of original information on radionuclide transfer to marine biota species available from Russian language literature sources is presented here. The concentration ratio (CR) values for many radionuclides and for marine species such as: ²³⁹Pu, ¹⁰⁶Ru and ⁹⁵Zr (crustacean), ⁵⁴Mn, ⁹⁰Sr, ⁹⁵Nb, ¹⁰⁶Ru, ¹³⁷Cs ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴¹Am and natural U (molluscs), and ⁵⁴Mn, ⁹⁰Sr, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁴⁴Ce (fish) are in good agreement with those previously published, whilst for some of them, in particular, for ³²P and ¹¹⁰Ag (crustaceans), ³⁵S (molluscs), ³²P, ³⁵S, ⁹⁵Nb, and ¹⁰⁶Ru (macroalgae) and ⁶⁰Co and ^239,240Pu (fish) the data presented here suggest that changes in the default CR reference values presented in recent marine reviews may be required. The data presented here are intended to supplement substantially the CR values being collated within the handbook on Wildlife Transfer Coefficients, coordinated under the IAEA EMRAS II programme.     

Chelation therapy of incorporated plutonium-238 and americium-241: comparison of LICAM(C), DTPA and DFOA in rats, hamsters and mice

The carboxylated catechoylamide 3,4,3-LICAM(C) was tested for removal of 238Pu and 241Am from small laboratory rodents. The effectiveness of treatment was compared with that of two ligand preparations approved for clinical use: calcium-trisodium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) and desferrioxamine (DFOA). With early treatment and at the dosage used clinically for the decorporation of actinides with DTPA (30 mumol/kg body weight) LICAM(C) was superior to DFOA but when compared with DTPA, the effect of LICAM(C) on 238Pu was greater only in bone; as little as 1 mumol LICAM(C)/kg was as effective as 30 mumol DTPA/kg. However, in all animals treated with LICAM(C) there was a large increase in the 238Pu content of the kidney. With 241Am the effect of DTPA was always superior to that of LICAM(C). The best overall results early (1 day) after injection of 238Pu and 241Am were achieved by a combination of a single injection of LICAM(C) and DTPA with subsequent continuous administration of DTPA in drinking water. LICAM(C) affected the retention of 238Pu even if given orally; the data suggested that about 3 per cent of ingested LICAM(C) was absorbed. When the beginning of treatment was delayed, LICAM(C) became equally effective or less effective than DTPA even as far as 238Pu retention in bone was concerned, but it still increased the accumulation of 238Pu in the kidneys.     

Prediction of 137Cs behaviour in the soil-plant system in the territory of Semipalatinsk test site

A mathematical model of 137Cs behaviour in the soil-plant system is presented. The model has been parameterized for the area adjacent to the testing area Ground Zero of the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The model describes the main processes responsible for the changes in 137Cs content in the soil solution and, thereby, dynamics of the radionuclide uptake by vegetation. The results are taken from predictive and retrospective calculations that reflect the dynamics of 137Cs distribution by species in soil after nuclear explosions. The importance of factors governing 137Cs accumulation in plants within the STS area is assessed. The analysis of sensitivity of the output model variable to changes in its parameters revealed that the key soil properties significantly influence the results of prediction of 137Cs content in plants.     

Body concentration of caesium-137 in patients from Western Isles of Scotland.

OBJECTIVES--To compare caesium-137 concentrations in patients from the Western Isles Health Board, Glasgow area, and other parts of the Scottish mainland, and to investigate the source of 137Cs in patients from the Western Isles. DESIGN--Study of hypertensive patients having electrolyte concentrations measured, including 137Cs. Interview by questionnaire of island subjects about intake of foods likely to contain radiocaesium and the source of these foods. Measurement of 137Cs and 134Cs in food, urine, and vegetation. SETTING--Scottish mainland and Western Isles, 1979-86. All measurements before Chernobyl nuclear accident. PATIENTS--413 consecutive patients referred to the blood pressure unit for investigation of hypertension. 60 from the Western Isles, including 44 from North Uist; 32 from North Uist participated in the dietary analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Concentration of radiocaesium in the body, urine, food, and vegetation. Islanders'' consumption of local produce. RESULTS--Patients from the Western Isles had five times higher body concentrations of 137Cs (median 2.54 (interquartile range 1.25-3.73)) Bq/gK) than did patients from around Glasgow (0.47 (0.26-0.66) Bq/gK) and other parts of the Scottish mainland (0.42 (0.24-0.71) Bq/gK). Islanders often consumed local milk and mutton, but ate local fish rarely. 137Cs and 134Cs were present in coastal (21.6 Bq/kg 137Cs, 0.25 Bq/kg 134Cs) and moorland (135.9, 0.65 Bq/kg) grasses and in islanders'' urine (2.01, 0.013 Bq/l). Lower concentrations (0.336, 0.004 Bq/l), were found in the urine of Glasgow controls (p less than 0.001 for both isotopes). CONCLUSIONS--Islanders have excess body 137Cs concentrations, most of which probably comes from local milk and lamb. The radioactivity is not above the recommended safety limit. The presence of 134Cs suggests that nuclear reprocessing is the source of some of the radiocaesium.     

Association of Chernobyl-derived 239+240Pu, 241Am, 90Sr and 137Cs with different molecular size fractions of organic matter in the soil solution of two grassland soils

Radiocesium is normally bound only rather weakly and unspecifically by humic substances, in contrast to the actinides Pu and Am. Recently, however, it was observed that fallout ¹³⁷Cs in the soil solution from an Of-horizon of a podzol forest soil (slightly decomposed plant material) was associated essentially only with one single size fraction of the humic substances. In deeper soil layers with well humified material (AOh-horizon), radiocesium was associated with all size fractions of the dissolved organic matter (DOM). To examine whether this unexpected behaviour is also observable for DOM isolated from other soils, we determined the association of fallout ¹³⁷Cs,⁹⁰Sr,²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu and ²⁴¹Am with various size fractions of DOM from in situ soil solutions isolated from two layers (0–2 cm and 2–5 cm) of two grassland soils (a soddy podzolic soil and a peat soil) within the 10 km zone of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl (Ukraine). The four size fractions of DOM as obtained by gel filtration of the soil solution were (mean nominal molecular weight in daltons): fraction I: ≥2000, fraction II: 1300; fraction III: 560, fraction IV: inorganic compounds. The results for the well humified DOM (humus accumulation horizon of podzol, deeper layer of peat soil) showed that Pu and Am are essentially associated with the high molecular weight fractions, while Sr is present only in the `inorganic' fraction. Radiocesium is found in all the size fractions separated. A quite similar pattern was also found for Pu, Am, and Sr in the soil solution from only slightly decomposed plant material (0–2 cm of peat soil), but not for radiocesium. This radionuclide was again essentially only observable in one single low molecular weight fraction of DOM. The above results thus support our recent observations in the different horizons of a forest podzol mentioned above, even though no reason for the different binding of radiocesium by well humified soil organic matter and by only slightly decomposed plant material can be given at present. The data demonstrate, however, that information on only the total amount of a radionuclide in the soil solution will not be sufficient to interpret or predict its fate adequately in the soil. Received: 13 February 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 14 July 1998