Chernobyl explosion affected Sweden more than Poland
Washington, October 2: Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,
Ohio, have tracked the Chernobyl fallout to reveal that much more plutonium was found in
the Swedish soil at a depth that corresponded with the nuclear explosion than that of
Poland.
When a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in what was then
the Soviet republic of Ukraine, radioactive elements were released in the air and
dispersed over the Soviet Union, Europe and even eastern portions of North America.
More than 20 years later, researchers from Case Western Reserve University traveled to
Sweden and Poland to gain insight into the downward migration of Chernobyl-derived
radionuclides in the soil.
Among the team's findings was the fact that much more plutonium was found in the
Swedish soil at a depth that corresponded with the nuclear explosion than that of
Poland.
Radionuclides occur in soil both from natural processes and as fallout from nuclear
testing.
Gerald Matisoff, chair of the department of geological sciences at Case Western Reserve
University, Lauren Vitko, field assistant from Case Western Reserve, and others took soil
samples in various locations in the two countries, measuring the presence and location of
cesium, plutonium, and lead.
By looking at the magnitude of the radioactive fallout, how fast it moved down into the
soil profile and how quickly it eroded and is transported by sediment, Matisoff's research
helps shed light on two fronts.
The first is dealing with the public health ramifications, studying such issues as food
chain transfer, exposure and cleanup as well as understanding the geologic
aftereffects.
The second is developing an understanding of the differentiation of radioactive
elements from a one-time event like Chernobyl and those of fallout created by atmospheric
nuclear weapons testing conducted in the 1960s.
Soil samples collected by Matisoff's team reveal insights based on several conditions,
such as how the radionuclides were delivered to the soil, whether from a one-time event
like the Chernobyl disaster or from atmospheric bomb testing.
It also reveals the half-life of the radionuclides and whether they were absorbed more
heavily onto clay particles or organic materials; and the types of soil which may keep the
particles at the surface or allow them to permeate to levels below the surface.
As the team examined a range of soil types from the two countries, they found a spike
in 239, 240Pu in Sweden's soil at a depth that coincides with the Chernobyl disaster, yet
no similar blip in Poland's soil.
Meteorological research showed that it rained in Sweden while the radioactive cloud was
over that country.
Leeched of much of its radionuclides, much less plutonium fell on Poland when the cloud
later crossed over its borders.
--ANI
