Factors affecting the distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in the coastal Burullus Lake.

In the present study, measurements of naturally occurring radioactive materials and (137)Cs activity in sediment were conducted for locations covering the entire Burullus Lake in order to gather information about radionuclides mobility and distribution. Low-background γ-spectrometry was employed to determine the activity concentrations of water and sediment samples. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra and (232)Th are close to uniform distribution in the lake environment. Among the different physical and chemical characteristics measured for water and sediment, only salinity and total organic matter content have the potential to affect the mobility of (137)Cs and (40)K. The results suggest that these two radionuclides are attached to different mobile particulates. Increasing salinity tends to strengthen the adsorption of (137)Cs and solubilization of (40)K in sediment. On the other hand, sediment with high organic matter content traps (137)Cs and (40)K associated particulates to bottom sediment.

Distribution of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in the environment of Burullus Lake: I. Soils and vegetations.

The concentrations and distribution of gamma-ray emitting isotopes in Burullus Lake were investigated with the aim of evaluating the environmental radioactivity. Particularly in wetlands, natural properties of the environment can cause the actual inventory to be different from the activity originally deposited. The mean concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K were 14.3, 15.5 and 224 Bq/kg, respectively, in the coastal soils. On the other hand, soil samples from the islands had mean concentrations of 13.5, 17.4 and 341 Bq/kg for (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively. Samples from coast and islands show evidence of possible transfer and accumulation of the (137)Cs radionuclide. The mean (137)Cs activity concentrations in the soil samples were 1.2 and 15.1 Bq/kg in the coast and islands, respectively. The vertical migration of (137)Cs was studied based on its content in the consequently located three soil layers down to 30 cm depth. The radium equivalent, dose rate in air and annual dose equivalent from the terrestrial natural gamma-radiation were evaluated. The mean activity concentrations of the gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in vegetation were relatively low.