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TECHNICAL REPORT
Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical Transport

Radionuclide Transport above a Near-Surface Water Table

III. Soil Migration and Crop Uptake of Three Gamma-Emitting Radionuclides, 1990 to 1993

^a T.H. Huxley School of Environment, Earth Science and Engineering, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
^b Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom

* Corresponding author (gg.shaw{at}ic.ac.uk)

Received for publication November 30, 1999. This paper summarizes the vertical distributions of ²²Na, ¹³⁷Cs, and ⁶⁰Co above controlled water tables in deep and shallow lysimeters during a four-year experiment. The activity concentration profiles were all determined at the time of harvest of a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Pastiche) crop. Activity concentrations in different crop tissues were determined and crop uptake expressed as both an inventory ratio (IR) and a transfer factor (TF_w), weighted to account for root and radionuclide distributions within the soil profile. Experimental variates were subjected to analysis of variance to determine the single and combined effects of the soil depth and the year of the experiment on the results obtained. Each radionuclide showed significant variations in activity concentration with soil depth, but the significance of these variations from year to year was dependent on radionuclide. A distinction in the behavior of weakly sorbed (²²Na) and more highly sorbed (¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co) radionuclides was observed. The former exhibited significant variations in its distribution in the soil profile from year-to-year whereas the latter did not. Relatively high TF_w values for ²²Na were maintained throughout the experiment, whereas for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co, the highest TF_w values were recorded in 1990 followed by a significant decline in 1991, with TF_w remaining low in 1992 and 1993. The TF_w values were, in general, significantly higher for deep lysimeters than for shallow lysimeters. This is thought to provide evidence of enhanced radionuclide absorption by the relatively small fraction of roots in the vicinity of the deeper water table.

Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance • ILW, intermediate-level radioactive waste • IR, inventory ratio • LLW, low-level radioactive waste • TF_w, weighted soil–plant transfer factor • WMAC, weighted mean soil activity concentration

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