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We present plutonium (Pu) and uranium (U) isotopic fingerprints (or signatures) in environmental samples collected at Bikar Atoll. Bikar is the second -most northern atoll of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and therefore an important reference point to evaluate the extension of the regional fallout from the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) in Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. Previous studies have shown that regional fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapon testing (NWT) in Bikini and Enewetak has resulted in elevated levels of fallout radionuclides in this atoll. In order to optimally interpret the isotopic fingerprints, we compare our results with data obtained in eleven certified reference materials, representing different contamination sources. As well as 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 240 Pu, 241 Pu, 238 U and 235 U, this study also encompasses less commonly reported radionuclides such as 242 Pu, 244 Pu and 236 U. We show the importance of combining numerous fingerprints for improved assessment of the source of a nuclear contamination. In samples from Bikar, Pu and U isotope ratios were found to vary within narrow ranges. Pu and U fingerprints suggest that regional fallout from the Castle Bravo test in March 1954 was the main source of the contamination. This was further confirmed by two different age dating approaches that estimated 1954 as the year of the contamination. We demonstrate that use of an exponential function to approximate the yield of heavy radionuclides in thermonuclear explosions with increasing mass is a valid approach for estimating the age of a contamination. We show that, if sufficient radionuclide activity concentration measurement results with low uncertainties are available, this method is robust., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The Aare-Rhine river system with its four nuclear power plants on the banks of these rivers and with its intermediate lakes and reservoirs provide the unique chance to analyze the input of radioactivity into the system thereby furnishing information on the sources, to analyze the transport within the sediment and along the rivers, and to refine unsupported 210 Pb dating validated by known discharge maxima. At three locations (Lake Biel, Klingnau Reservoir, old branch of the Rhine) in the Aare and Rhine rivers system downstream of the older nuclear power plants (NPPs) Mühleberg and Beznau, the vertical distributions of 137 Cs, 210 Pb, 214 Pb, 214 Bi, 4 0 K, 7 Be, 239 Pu, 240 Pu, 241 Am, and 237 Np in sediment cores were determined. Depth-age relations using the excess 210 Pb were established with the raw and with the piecewise Constant Rate Supply (CRS) models. A comparison of the piecewise CRS method with the imprints of known discharges showed differences of up to two years. Besides typical 137 Cs signals (about 100 Bq∙kg -1 ) from the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing (NWT) and the Chernobyl fallouts, imprints of known 137 Cs discharges (10-70 Bq∙kg -1 ) from the NPPs were found in the sediments. The 237 Np distributions (6-10 Bq∙kg -1 ) essentially follow the 137 Cs NWT distributions. In the sediment downstream the NPP Mühleberg (Lake Biel) a 239 Pu distribution (<3 Bq∙kg -1 ) was found, which was solely due to the NWT fallout. Downstream the NPP Beznau (Klingnau Reservoir and an old branch of the Rhine), besides the NWT distribution, also imprints of 239 Pu discharges (up to 7 Bq∙kg -1 ) were found within the time interval 1963 to 1986. 240 Pu/ 239 Pu ratios revealed that the burn-up times of the nuclear fuel in the NPP ( 235 U enrichment of 3.5%), from which the discharges stem, should be about 1 year or less. A comparison between the calculated and the measured 137 Cs/ 239 Pu ratio revealed no large discrepancies for the Lake Biel and Rhine positions, but in the Klingnau distribution, the calculated 137 Cs/ 239 Pu ratio is one order of magnitude larger than the measured one. The reason could be either a natural uranium research reactor as the source, or strong, short-range 239 Pu precipitation after the discharge from the Beznau NPP. The largest 239 Pu peak in the Rhine sediment (1968/70) corresponds to no major peak in the Klingnau sediment. For the NPP Mühleberg discharge of 1982 the ratio of the 137 Cs deposition in sediments from Lake Biel, Klingnau Reservoir and the Rhine river is about 1 : 0.5 : 2.9. For the 1977/78 239 Pu deposition the ratio is 1 : 0.02, for the Klingnau Reservoir and the Rhine sediments, respectively. These numbers indicate a long-range transport of Cs and a rather short-range transport of Pu., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents the results of 137 Cs and 210 Pb dating of sediments from the northern and western basins of Lago Maggiore and the southern basin of Lago di Lugano. Vertical distributions of 137 Cs in sediment cores taken in 2017/18 were compared to those of the sediment cores taken almost two decades ago at the same positions. This comparison showed that 137 Cs peaks do not alter their shape significantly over time and 137 Cs remains a reliable time-marker for many decades. 210 Pb dating using for the first time the piecewise "constant rate supply" (CRS PW ) model constrained with 137 Cs time-markers is performed for sediment cores of Lago Maggiore and Lago di Lugano. "Event-linked" mass accumulation rates (MARs) were derived from the CRS PW model. In combination with the dry bulk density, organic matter content, 40 K and 210 Pb activity concentrations, these "event-linked" MARs were used for the identification of one or more event layers (turbidites, detrital layers) in 1-cm thick sediment samples. "Continuous" mean MARs which are independent of the event layers were estimated: in Lago Maggiore sediment cores they are 0.066-0.090 g cm -2 yr -1 ; in Lago di Lugano they vary in the range of 0.032-0.057 g cm -2 yr -1 with higher values in the time interval 1963-1986 as compared to 1986-present., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We present long-term records of the (137)Cs and (90)Sr activity concentrations in soil, grass and milk from two lowland and two alpine pastures of Switzerland. The data is used for better understanding the long-term behavior of these radionuclides in the environment. Transfer factors between compartments are used as qualitative indicators of the magnitude of transfer and as a way to compare different elements (e.g. Cs and Sr) in similar conditions. The long-term behavior was quantified by means of the effective half-life which integrates all processes that cause a decrease of activity in a given medium such as leaching, fixation, erosion and radioactive decay. Our study shows that (90)Sr is more likely transferred from alpine soil to grass than (137)Cs. This is explained by a stronger fixation of Cs in the soils. We observed higher transfers of (90)Sr to grass in soils with lower Ca concentrations, and vice versa. In contrast, the transfer of (137)Cs to grass was not affected by the variations of the K content in the soil. We provide evidence that shows that (137)Cs, after intake by dairy cattle, is more likely transferred to milk than (90)Sr. However, as the (90)Sr and Ca transfers to milk are influenced by parameters/processes that were not taken into account in our study, our result cannot be entirely validated. The effective half-lives of (137)Cs and (90)Sr in soil, grass and milk corresponded with previous estimates in alpine soils. We have found that processes other than radioactive decay are responsible for a major decrease of the (90)Sr activity in soil. For (137)Cs, on the other hand, radioactive decay is among the most relevant process. Our data shows to be of interest in studying the trends of behavior of radionuclides in alpine regions., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper the most important problems in dating lake sediments with unsupported (210)Pb are summarized and the progress in gamma-spectrometry of the unsupported (210)Pb is discussed. The main topics of these studies concern sediment samples preparation for gamma-spectrometry, measurement techniques and data analysis, as well as understanding of accumulation and sedimentation processes in lakes. The vertical distributions of artificial ((137)Cs, (241)Am, (239)Pu) and natural radionuclides ((40)K, (210,214)Pb, (214)Bi) as well as stable trace elements (Fe, Mn, Pb) in sediment cores from four Swiss lakes were used as examples for the interpretation, inter-comparison and validation of depth-age relations established by three (210)Pb-based models (CF-CSR, CRS and SIT). The identification of turbidite layers and the influence of the turbidity flows on the accuracy of sediment dating is demonstrated. Time-dependent mass sedimentation rates in lakes Brienz, Thun, Biel and Lucerne are discussed and compared with published data., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An assessment of the radioactive and chemical contamination of the water resources at the former uranium mines and processing sites of Mailuu-Suu, in Kyrgyzstan, was carried out. A large number of water samples were collected from the drinking water distribution system (DWDS), rivers, shallow aquifers and drainage water from the mine tailings. Radionuclides and trace metal contents in water from the DWDS were low in general, but were extremely high for Fe, Al and Mn. These elements were associated with the particle fractions in the water and strongly correlated with high turbidity levels. Overall, these results suggest that water from the DWDS does not represent a serious radiological hazard to the Mailuu Suu population. However, due to the high turbidities and contents of some elements, this water is not good quality drinking water. Water from artesian and dug wells were characterized by elevated levels of U (up to 10 μg/L) and some trace elements (e.g. As, Se, Cr, V and F) and anions (e.g. Cl(-), NO3(-), SO4(2-)). In two artesian wells, the WHO guideline value of 10 μg/L for As in water was exceeded. As the artesian wells are used as a source of drinking water by a large number of households, special care should be taken in order to stay within the WHO recommended guidelines. Drainage water from the mine tailings was as expected highly contaminated with many chemicals (e.g. As) and radioactive contaminants (e.g. U). The concentrations of U were more than 200 times the WHO guideline value of 30 μg/L for U in drinking water. A large variation in (234)U/(238)U isotopic ratios in water was observed, with values near equilibrium at the mine tailings and far from equilibrium outside this area (reaching ratios of 2.3 in the artesian well). This result highlights the potential use of this ratio as an indicator of the origin of U contamination in Mailuu Suu., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Discharges from the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Industrial Complex (KMCIC) near Krasnoyarsk resulted in radioactive contamination of sediments of the River Yenisei. Between 1999 and 2006, 16 sediment cores were collected at different positions 15-1500 km downstream from the discharge point. The concentration of artificial gamma-emitting radionuclides ((137)Cs, (60)Co, (152)Eu, and (241)Am) was determined with the objective to analyze the migration processes leading to the transport of these radionuclides along the river and to their vertical distribution within the sediment. In cores taken in the vicinity of the reactors, the average activity concentration of (137)Cs, (152)Eu, and (60)Co was about 1000 Bq kg(-1), and the activity concentration of (241)Am was about 20 Bq kg(-1). Contamination levels of artificial radionuclides were decreasing with increasing distance downstream the KMCIC: The fastest decrease of average activity by a factor of 10 over a distance of 300 km was observed for (241)Am, whereas for (137)Cs this decrease occurred over a distance of 1100 km. Sequential extraction experiments revealed that in all depths and at all distances the studied radionuclides were tightly bound to the sediment. To investigate the mechanisms of transport of the (137)Cs and (60)Co contamination, mathematical models have been used to describe the contamination in the river water and within the sediments., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes the behaviour of 137Cs in Lago Maggiore and other pre-alpine lakes as a consequence of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing fallout and the fallout from the nuclear accident in Chernobyl. It presents data on the 137Cs distribution in tributaries, lake water, bottom sediments and reveals the role of (137)Cs as a marker of the sedimentation processes. The run-off of 137Cs from the watershed to the lake is described with a simple compartment model. Measurements of the activity concentration of (137)Cs in sediments are compared with the output of a model (diffusion-convection type) which describes the input of 137Cs into and its vertical distribution within the sediment. Varying sedimentation rates (0.05-0.90g(cm2y)(-1)) in Lago Maggiore are compared with data of other authors. Sedimentation rates and total distribution coefficients (of about 10(5) Lkg(-1)) in Lago Maggiore are discussed and compared with those of Lago di Lugano, Lake Constance, and Lake Vorsee.