THE 137Cs DISTRIBUTION IN SERPUKHOV SOILS SURFACE HORIZON (MOSCOW REGION)

Author(s):  I.S. Kapustina, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, irinaskapustina@gmail.com

N.V. Kuzmenkova, candidate of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, kouzmenkova@mail.ru

Issue:  Volume 42, №1

Rubric:  Earth sciences

Annotation:  Soil-geochemical studies in the Serpukhov territory were carried out in July 2016. 27 samples of urban soils surface horizons were selected on a 2000 meters grid. Specific activities and spatial distribution of 137Cs have been investigated. Its soils content average is 5.4 Bq/kg, which is three times lower than the world soil background. However, the uneven distribution of the artificial radionuclide throughout the city was found: the maximum average and maximum single values in the residential zone of the rural type (5.4 and 17.9 Bq/kg, respectively) and recreational (15.9 and 17.4 Bq/kg, respectively) above the world soil background. Analysis of natural and anthropogenic factors affecting migration and fixation of the radionuclide in the surface horizon of soils showed that the content of 137Cs is mainly controlled by belonging to a particular functional zone. The radiation status of Serpukhov's soils is characterized as safe: the average density of pollution is 4.1 kBq/m2.

Keywords:  urban soils, 137Cs, functional zones, radioecological assessment

Full text (PDF):  Download

Downloads count:  416