Abstract
The results of analysis of 137Cs aggregated transfer factors (Tag) to crops (cereals, potatoes, and vegetables) produced in the districts of Bryansk region, which were affected by the Chernobyl accident, are presented. In subsequent years, the aggregated transfer factors in the year of the deposition, as well as the dynamics of Tag, depended considerably on the fertility of contaminated soils. The transfer factors of 137Cs to crops were 3–8 times lower in areas with higher fertility (depending on the plant species) than in areas with low fertility and the most significant differences were observed for cereals. The decrease in Tag values was irregular. The half-lives of 137Cs aggregated transfer factors for the period from 1986 to 2021 have been calculated. It is shown that the first half-life values calculated for the period of intensive application of countermeasures (1987–1991) were 0.7 to 1.4 years. The second half-life values varied from 7.3 to 17.3 years for cereals. In some districts, a slow increase in 137Cs aggregated transfer factors was recorded after a strong reduction in 137Cs concentrations in crops after 1994, which can be explained by insufficient compensation for the reduction by the geochemical binding of 137Cs in the soil. Later, the dynamics of crop contamination was determined by multidirectional processes: an increase in 137Cs transfer to plants and a natural decrease in radionuclide bioavailability in soils under the influence of geochemical processes. In areas with intensive application of countermeasures, the reduction of Tag in crops was determined mainly by the effect of agrochemical countermeasures. In areas with limited application of countermeasures, natural biogeochemical processes determining radionuclide binding by the soil-absorbing complex made the predominant contribution to the reduction in Tag. The limitations of the approach based on the estimation of half-lives and the necessity of using the history of countermeasures, as well as the soil fertility for predicting the 137Cs intake by plants, have been recorded.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to Dr. Sci. (Agr.) N.N. Tsybul’ko for valuable comments, which made it possible to improve the presentation of the materials.
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Fesenko, S.V., Prudnikov, P.V., Emlyutina, E.S. et al. Dynamics of 137Cs Transfer Factors to Agricultural Products after the Chernobyl Accident: Cereals, Potatoes, and Vegetables. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 50, 3355–3366 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359023120105
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359023120105