Transfer parameters of radionuclides from soil to plants at the area of craters produced by underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site

A study to determine Cs-137, Sr-90, Am-241, Pu239+240 radionuclides in vegetation cover of the area of craters produced by underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site (STS) is summarised in this paper. Transfer factors (Tf) required for the quantitative description of the radionuclides transition from the soil to aboveground plant parts were found to be highest for sagebrush (Artemisia sublessingiana), Tf values for Sr-90 were gradually decreasing with increasing distance from the dump zone. When arranging the radionuclide transferring factors in descending order, the following sequence was ob-tained: Sr-90 Tf > Cs-137 Tf > Am-241 Tf > Pu239+240 Tf, which is consistent with International data. All Tf derived are much higher than those ones derived earlier for epicenters of aboveground nuclear tests and are closest to values for conventionally background areas at the Semipalatinsk test site.

Automated summary

The study found that the transfer factors of radioactive nuclides in vegetation cover of craters produced by underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site were highest for Sr-90, followed by Cs-137, Am-241, and Pu239+240. These transfer factors are significantly higher than those found in aboveground nuclear tests and closest to background areas at the Semipalatinsk test site.