INVESTIGATION OF 137Cs AND 90Sr TRANSFER FROM SANDY SOIL TO SCOTS PINE (PINUS SYLVESTRIS L.) RINGS

Artificial radionuclides entered the environment mostly as a result of nuclear explosions, accidents at nuclear power plants and are entering due to the operation of the nuclear industry. After entering the environment, radionuclides spread globally at the world level, affect all environmental components and accumulate here. One of such environmental components is the tree. It, as if a historical chronicle, fixes the previous contamination and the former climatic conditions. One of the ways to read that chronicle is to estimate the radionuclide soil-to-tree transfer factors and coefficients. This work presents and analyses the experimental data of a study on the transfer of radionuclides from the soil to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The report investigates the transfer of Sr-90 and Cs-137 from a soil layer of 0-20 cm to Scots pine wood. For investigation, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was selected. Its growing site is in Alytus district, in a woody territory, where it falls into an increased radioactive contamination patch. On this growing site, sandy soils are prevailing. It is identified that Sr-90 transfer factor to the pinewood under study ranges from 0.005. +/- 0.002 to 0.315. +/- 0.002, and transfer coefficients from (0.2. +/- 0.1).10(-4) to (4.0. +/- 0.6).10(-4) m(2)/kg. Meanwhile, the coefficients of 137Cs transfer from the soil to Scots pine wood ranges from - (4.0 +/- 1.0).10(-4) m(2)/kg to (8.0 +/- 2.0).10(-4) m(2)/kg. The identified mean transfer coefficients of Cs-137 are approximately five times higher than mean coefficients of Sr-90 transfer from soil to wood.