The research was focused on the level and distribution of 90 Sr in various parts of the terrestrial environment of Spitsbergen. The mean activity concentrations were noted lower in peats and soils than in cryoconite. Analysis of vertical variation of 90 Sr for soils and peats as well as isotopic ratios of 137 Cs/ 90 Sr and 239+240 Pu/ 90 Sr for cryoconite clearly showed substantial migration or depletion of the considered radionuclide. Due to the large dispersion of isotopic signatures, the 90 Sr provenance was difficult to identify in the examined region. However, observed high mobility of the 90 Sr might indicate the global fallout origin.

In October 2017, most European countries reported unique atmospheric detections of aerosol-bound radioruthenium (106Ru). The range of concentrations varied from some tenths of µBq·m-3 to more than 150 mBq·m-3 The widespread detection at such considerable (yet innocuous) levels suggested a considerable release. To compare activity reports of airborne 106Ru with different sampling periods, concentrations were reconstructed based on the most probable plume presence duration at each location. Based on airborne concentration spreading and chemical considerations, it is possible to assume that the release occurred in the Southern Urals region (Russian Federation). The 106Ru age was estimated to be about 2 years. It exhibited highly soluble and less soluble fractions in aqueous media, high radiopurity (lack of concomitant radionuclides), and volatility between 700 and 1,000 °C, thus suggesting a release at an advanced stage in the reprocessing of nuclear fuel. The amount and isotopic characteristics of the radioruthenium release may indicate a context with the production of a large 144Ce source for a neutrino experiment.

Presented are results on the Pu and Th isotopes activity concentration found in the upper part of bottom sediments collected from a deep part of 29 lakes in N-E Poland by diving in 2000. Analyses of Pu isotopic ratios allowed for the discussion of Pu origin. Maximum percentage of 239+240Pu activity from Chernobyl fallout was 24%. Surface deposition of 239+240Pu was calculated. No relationship was found between the plutonium and main chemical matrix components of sample nor with the trophic status of the lake. Pu activities were weakly correlated with measured previously 137Cs activities.

Cryoconite granules are mixtures of mineral particles, organic substances and organisms on the surface of glaciers where they decrease the ice albedo and are responsible for formation of water-filled holes. The contaminants are effectively trapped in the cryoconite granules and stay there for many years. This study evaluates the contamination level of artificial and natural radionuclides in cryoconite holes from Adishi glacier (Georgia) and identifies the sources of contamination based on activity or mass ratios among artificial radionuclides. Results revealed high activity concentrations of fallout radionuclides reaching 4900 Bq/kg, 2.5 Bq/kg, 107 Bq/kg and 68 Bq/kg for 137Cs, 238Pu, 239+240Pu and 241Am, respectively. The main source of Pu is global fallout, but the low 240Pu/239Pu atomic ratios also indicated local tropospheric source of 239Pu, probably from the Kapustin Yar nuclear test site. Also, high activity ratios of 241Am/239+240Pu could originate from Kapustin Yar. The natural radionuclides originate from the surrounding rocks and were measured to control the environmental processes. 210Pb in cryoconite granules comes predominantly from the atmospheric deposition, and its activity concentrations reach high values up to 12000 Bq/kg.

The results of the sum of dry and wet activity deposition for naturally occurring Be-7, Pb-210, K-40, Na-20 and anthropogenic Cs-137 radionuclides in Krakow (Southern Poland) for the samples collected over 10 years (from August 2005 to July 2015) are presented and discussed. The radionuclides were determined using low background gamma spectrometry with HPGe detectors. Additionally, in this paper there are shown the results of activity concentrations in water from air precipitation for Be-7, Pb-210, Na-22, K-40 and Cs-137 radioisotopes from the period of 7 years (from August 2008 to July 2015). For all these series the statistical analysis including Speamian correlations, effects of seasonal variation and multiple regression models were conducted. After excluding two months from 2011 affected by the Fukushima accident, high Spearman correlation factors (R > 0:5) for activity deposition were noticed for the pair of the cosmogenic radionuclides Be-7 and Na-22 (R = 0.508) and between Pb-210 and Be-7 (R = 0.570). High correlation was noted between activity deposition and amount of precipitation for Be-7 (R = 0.677). The seasonal cor-relations between Be-7-Na-22, K-40-Cs-137, Pb-210-Cs-137 and Be-7-Pb-210 were investigated and the highest correlation coefficient R = 0.731 for the K-40-Cs-137 pair was in the spring season. High correlations were observed also between Pb-210 and Be-7 for autumn (R = 0.594), K-40-Cs-137 in summer (R = 0.582), Be-7 -Na-22 in spring (R = 0.635) and Pb-210-Cs-137 in autumn (R = 0.672). The multiple regression approach showed the interesting difference in scavenging mechanisms of cosmogenic and terrestrial radionuclides. According to that model, the deposition of cosmogenic nuclides was noticeably related to the amount of precipitation, while the deposition of terrestrial radionuclides did not show such dependence. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The paper summarizes results of investigation of the current state of radioactive contamination on site being under consideration for planned nuclear power plant in northern Poland. Thanks to use of sequential procedure it was possible to determine activity concentrations for radioisotopes of nine elements, both natural and artificial. Results show that observed levels of radioactive contamination are rather typical for central Europe and global fallout is dominant factor of presence of artificial radionuclides. The total deposition for artificial radionuclides revealed maxima equal to 1747 ± 121 Bq/m2 for 137Cs, 3854 ± 158 Bq/m2 for 90Sr, 101 ± 23 mBq/m2 for 237Np, 57.7 ± 6.0 Bq/m2 for 241Am, 3.27 ± 0.80 Bq/m2 for 238Pu and 68.5 ± 5.0 Bq/m2 for 239+240Pu.

Except for well-known predictions for the island of stability at Z=126 recently it was found that a similar kind of the stability region can be expected at Z=110-112. The half-life time estimation for two super-heavy nuclei of Darmstadtium (Ds, Z=110), gives the value of approximately 32 years and about 100 years for 292Ds and 293Ds, respectively. Other sources suggest even longer half-life times; for example, half-life time for 293Ds could be even as long as about 300 years5. These isotopes are yet to be observed. This paper describes the use alpha spectrometry to investigate the presence of Ds in a sample of stratospheric dust trapped in cabin filters of the two Boeing 767 airliners exploited on the north Atlantic routes between central Europe and east coast of America. After a relatively simple separation technique, alpha spectrometry was performed.

The paper presents the results of our study on 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Am and 90Sr concentration in human bones carried out on a set of 88 individual samples of central Europe origin. Bone tissue samples were retrieved under surgery while introducing hip joint implants. The conducted surgeries tend to cover either southern or northeastern parts of Poland. While for the southern samples only global fallout was expected to be seen, a mixed global and Chernobyl fallout were to be reflected in the others. Alpha spectrometry was applied to obtain activity concentration for 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am, while liquid scintillation spectrometry for 90Sr and mass spectrometry to receive 240Pu/239Pu mass ratio. Surprisingly enough, and to the contrary to our expectations we could not see any significant differences in either Pu activity or Pu mass ratio between the studied populations. In both populations Chernobyl fraction proved marginal. The results on 90Sr and 241Am confirm similarities between the two examined groups.

A serious accident at Fukushima Dai-Ichi NPP triggered radioactive emission to the atmosphere on 12 March 2011. The results of gamma spectrometric measurements of both gaseous and aerosol fraction of the air, collected in Krakow over the period from March 21 till the end of May 2011, as well as wet and dry deposition recorded from March till the end of October 2011, are presented in this paper. Krakow happened to be the first Polish location where radioactive isotopes characteristic for reactor releases, such as 131I, 132I, 129mTe, 132Te, 134Cs, 136Cs, and 137Cs, were detected. The maximum activity for aerosols equal to (5.73 ± 0.35) mBq/m3, (0.461 ± 0.041) mBq/m3 and (0.436 ± 0.038) mBq/m3 for 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs, respectively, was recorded for March 29, 2011. The data on the fallout are also given. The results of the radiochemical analysis of aerosol samples showed no traces of plutonium or americium isotopes associated with the disaster to be detected. The results of air activity concentration from Fukushima accident observed in Central Europe, Poland, in comparison to those of Chernobyl accident observed in Japan are presented and discussed. The comparison has revealed a discrepancy in the recognized relative scale of both accidents, and important difference in long distance transport of contamination, to exist. An attempt to explain the variation in the activity ratios between the aerosol fraction for 131I and 137Cs as resulting from exchange between the gaseous and aerosol fractions of 131I while the contamination had been propagating, is made.

The paper presents a new sampling method for studying in-body radioactive contamination by bone-seeking radionuclides such as 90Sr, 239+240Pu, 238Pu, 241Am and selected gamma-emitters, in human bones. The presented results were obtained for samples retrieved from routine surgeries, namely knee or hip joints replacements with implants, performed on individuals from Southern Poland. This allowed to collect representative sets of general public samples. The applied analytical radiochemical procedure for bone matrix is described in details. Due to low concentrations of 238Pu the ratio of Pu isotopes which might be used for Pu source identification is obtained only as upper limits other then global fallout (for example Chernobyl) origin of Pu. Calculated concentrations of radioisotopes are comparable to the existing data from post-mortem studies on human bones retrieved from autopsy or exhumations. Human bones removed during knee or hip joint surgery provide a simple and ethical way for obtaining samples for plutonium, americium and 90Sr in-body contamination studies in general public.

Due to their low radioactivity background, underground physics laboratories offer a unique possibility for investigating extremely rare phenomena like proton decay, dark matter signals or neutrino physics/astrophysics related issues. The knowledge of the natural radioactivity background is essential for the success of an underground physics experiment. The following measurements of the natural radioactivity background, in the foreseen location of an underground physics laboratory in the salt layer, in the Polkowice Sieroszowice copper mine are presented: concentration of natural radio-isotopes from in situ obtained gamma-ray spectra and from alpha spectroscopy of rock samples, radon concentration in the air and the dose determination.

Arctic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to radioactive and other contamination because of such specific factors as the relatively short food chains, efficient transfer of contaminants along these food chains and the close relationship between marine and terrestrial ecosystems [1]. The Svalbard Archipelago lying close to the sites of previous atmospheric weapon tests (mainly at Novaja Zemlja) and in the path of atmospheric and marine transport from European sources of artificial radionuclides, remains vulnerable to radionuclide contamination (238Pu, 239,240Pu, 90Sr and 241Am). On the other hand, Svalbard is considered to be relatively unaffected by fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 [2]. Radiation monitoring of the Arctic is important in order to obtain spatial and temporal information on radionuclide levels and to identify their major sources and pathways in this fragile environment. Terrestrial radioactive elements like U and Th are a natural component of rock forming minerals. In soils, radionuclides of U and Th occur in their parent minerals or are adsorbed onto soil components (organic matter, clays, carbonates, Fe/Mn-oxides). Little is known about transfer of these radionuclides in the proglacial environment and how pedogenesis affects their depth distributions along soil profiles. The main aim of this study is to test sequential radiochemical procedure for multi-elemental analyses. Validity of using this method is to investigate levels of activity of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am, 90Sr and analyse the content of natural radioisotopes (238U, 234U and 232Th, 230Th) in soils and peats in the proglacial zone of the A sequential procedure for determining 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am, 90Sr, U and Th activities in soils and peats from Spitsbergen Edyta Łokas, Jerzy W. Mietelski, Krzysztof Kleszcz, Ewa Tomankiewicz

The project of the first Polish underground laboratory SUNLAB, in the Polkowice‐Sieroszowice copper mine, belonging to the KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. holding, is presented. Two stages of the project are foreseen: SUNLAB1 (a small laboratory in the salt layer exhibiting extremely low level of natural radioactivity) and SUNLAB2 (a big laboratory in the anhydrite layer, able to host the next generation liquid argon detector—GLACIER, which is considered within the LAGUNA FP7 project). The results of the natural radioactivity background measurements performed in the Polkowice‐Sieroszowice salt cavern are also briefly summarized.

Results are presented for (137)Cs, (90)Sr and plutonium activity concentrations in more than 20 samples of terrestrial invertebrates, including species of beetles, ants, spiders and millipedes, collected in the highly contaminated area of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The majority of samples were collected in Belarus, with some also collected in the Ukraine. Three other samples were collected in an area of lower contamination. Results show that seven samples exceed an activity concentration of 100 kBq/kg (ash weight--a.w.) for (137)Cs. The maximum activity concentration for this isotope was 1.52+/-0.08 MBq/kg (a.w.) determined in ants (Formica cynerea). Seven results for (90)Sr exceeded 100 kBq/kg (a.w.), mostly for millipedes. Relatively high plutonium activity concentrations were found in some ants and earth-boring dung beetles. Analyses of activity ratios showed differences in transfer of radionuclides between species. To reveal the correlation structure of the multivariate data set, the Partial Least-Squares method (PLS) was used. Results of the PLS model suggest that high radiocesium activity concentrations in animal bodies can be expected mainly for relatively small creatures living on the litter surface. In contrast, high strontium activity concentrations can be expected for creatures which conduct their lives within litter, having mixed trophic habits and a moderate lifespan. No clear conclusions could be made for plutonium.

This paper presents results of application of a sequential radiochemical procedure for multi-elemental analyses for samples collected in the Arctic environment. The levels of activity of Pu-238, Pu239+240, Am-241, Sr-90 and the content of natural radioisotopes (U-238, U-234 and Th-232, Th-230) were investigated in soils and peats in the proglacial zone of the Werenskiold glacier and on the strandflat in the vicinity of the glacier. Results on activity concentration shows general low level of radioactive contamination. Procedure was checked using reference materials. Reasonable recoveries were obtained for almost all analyzed radionuclides except for uranium. Further work is needed to improve this stage.

There are few data reported on radionuclide contamination in Antarctica. The aim of this paper is to report 137Cs, 90Sr and 238,239+240Pu and 40K activity concentrations measured in biological samples collected from King George Island (Southern Shetlands, Antarctica), mostly during 2001–2002. The samples included: bones, eggshells and feathers of penguin Pygoscelis papua, bones and feathers of petrel Daption capense, bones and fur of seal Mirounga leonina, algae Himantothallus grandifolius, Desmarestia anceps and Cystosphaera jacquinotii, fish Notothenia corriceps, sea invertebrates Amphipoda, shells of limpet Nacella concina, lichen Usnea aurantiaco-atra, vascular plants Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis, fungi Omphalina pyxidata, moss Sanionia uncinata and soil. The results show a large variation in some activity concentrations. Samples from the marine environment had lower contamination levels than those from terrestrial ecosystems. The highest activity concentrations for all radionuclides were found in lichen and, to a lesser extent, in mosses, probably because lichens take up atmospheric pollutants and retain them. The only significant correlation (except for that expected between 238Pu and 239+240Pu) was noted for moss and lichen samples between plutonium and 90Sr. A tendency to a slow decrease with time seems to be occurring. Analyses of the activity ratios show varying fractionation between various radionuclides in different organisms. Algae were relatively more highly contaminated with plutonium and radiostrontium, and depleted with radiocesium. Feathers had the lowest plutonium concentrations. Radiostrontium and, to a lesser extent, Pu accumulated in bones. The present low intensity of fallout in Antarctic has a lower 238Pu/239+240Pu activity ratio than that expected for global fallout.

The paper presents the analysis method and determination results of 137 Cs, 40 K, 90 Sr, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu and 241 Am concentrations in bone samples of 7 species of diurnal birds of prey and owls from the eastern Poland. The samples consisted of mostly complete skeletons separated mechanically from the soft tissues. The analytical method consisted of two main steps preceded by ignition in 400°C: gamma spectrometric measurements and radiochemical analyses. Radiochemical analysis required dissolution of the samples in hot acids and subsequent separation ofPu, Am, and Sr by co-precipitation with oxalates, followed by anion exchange and extraction chromatography. No correlation between Sr, Cs, Am, and Pu activities for the whole set of samples was observed. Even 238 Pu and 239+240 Pu showed no clear correlation. However, some results indicated higher 235 Pu/ 239+240 Pu activity ratio than that observed for the global fallout. In this case, the influence of the Chemobyl fallout was suggested. Significant correlation between 90 Sr and 239+240 Pu for Tawny owl Strix aluco and between 241 Am and 239+240 Pu for three subgroups was observed. Although some results for Pu isotopes might indicate that the traces of the Chernobyl fallout are measurable in birds from the eastern part of Poland, no clear geographical pattern related to the known distribution of the Chernobyl fallout has been observed yet.