Influence of variable oxygen concentration on the combustion derived release of radiocesium from boreal soil and peat.

Radiocesium, Cs, is one of the most common and dispersed human-made radionuclides. Substantial stocks of Cs are stored in organic layers, like soils and peat, as a consequence of nuclear weapons fallout and accidental releases. As climate warming progresses these organic layers are subject to enhanced risks of wildfires, especially in the vast boreal biome of the northern hemisphere.

Experimental wildfire induced mobility of radiocesium in a boreal forest environment.

Wildfires are expected to increase with warmer climate, which can contribute to the mobility and the resuspension of long-lived and potentially hazardous radionuclides. The release of Cs during combustion of dried litter, forest floor organic soil, and peat was investigated in a small-scale experimental set-up. Combustion conditions were varied to simulate different wildfire scenarios, and the fuels were dried organic material collected in a boreal environment of Sweden that was contaminated following the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

Insights into the Pu isotopic composition (Pu, Pu, and Pu) and U in marshland samples from Madagascar.

This work provides new insights into the presence of Pu, Pu, Pu, and U in the Southern Hemisphere through the study of peat bog cores from marshlands in Madagascar (19°S). Pb, Pu and Pu activities were characterized by alpha spectrometry in previous studies. Here, Pu from alpha-spectrometry discs corresponding to 10 peat-bog cores (85 samples) was reassessed for the aim of completing its isotopic composition (Pu, Pu, and Pu) by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry.

Tritium in urine from members of the general public and occupationally exposed workers in Lund, Sweden, prior to operation of the European Spallation Source.

A powerful neutron source, the European Spallation Source (ESS), is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden (~90 000 inhabitants). Levels of tritium (H) in urine were estimated in members of the public in Lund and employees at the ESS using liquid scintillation counting, to obtain baseline levels before the start of operation of the ESS. These were compared with levels in other occupationally exposed radiation workers.