The new map of radioactive soil contamination includes not only Switzerland, but also several neighboring countries
Scientists have created a new map to provide a basis for assessing soil loss following anthropogenic release of radionuclides. For this, it is important to know the proportion of radioactive fallout from Chernobyl.
Collected data provided to scientificcommunity and the general public, are useful for creating a reference base in the event of possible future radionuclide depositions. They will also come in handy for new research, especially in geomorphology. The data, for example, will help restore the rate of soil erosion since the 1960s in areas of Europe where major landscape changes have occurred.
Consortium researchers have used 160 samples from a European soil bank since 2009.
The radionuclides found in these samples - cesium and plutonium (137 Cs, 239 Pu, 240 Pu) - left a special trace in European soils.
In the countries that participated in the study,plutonium was obtained exclusively from nuclear testing. As for cesium, it is the result of both nuclear testing, especially in the 1960s, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. Therefore, the connection between cesium and plutonium is different depending on whether we are talking about nuclear tests or the Chernobyl accident. It was this relationship that allowed researchers to trace the origins of these man-made radionuclides deposited on European soils. Unlike the previous map, scientists can now distinguish between the sources of radioactive fallout.
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