Transfer of radiocaesium in sensitive agricultural environments after the Chernobyl fallout in Sweden. I. County of Gavleborg

In 1986, 15 farms in the Chernobyl-affected area of the county of Gavleborg were investigated for radiocaesium transfer to grass and cereal grain. The soil surface layer (0-5 cm) in 1986 and the crop products in 1986-1994 were analysed. The aim was to study the impact of site and soil characteristics on sensitivity of 137Cs transfer in a long-term perspective. The transfer was much higher to grass than to cereal grain. For both crop products, however, there was a considerable annual reduction. For grass, and especially in the fallout year 1986, the transfer depended on interception capacity of the stubble and grass sward, on soil fertility and K-fertilization as well as on dilution by crop growth. In the following years, the annual reduction in transfer to grass was reduced by a factor of 2 to 100. Both ploughing through the surface layer and the mixing of radiocaesium with soil contributed to a decreased transfer of radiocaesium to crops. Thick stubble and grass sward on the grassland sites was the main reason for a lag period of high persistent transfer. The annual reduction was less on organic than on mineral soils. Measures to decrease the transfer to crops are discussed in relation to a new concept to evaluate the long-term behaviour of 137Cs in agricultural environments.