Distribution of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am and 244Cm radionuclides in Chernobyl fallout by soil organic material fractions

The interaction of radionuclides with natural organic species is a subject of high interest. Soil is the main place accumulating radionuclides of Chernobyl fallout on the underlying surface. Radionuclides may be present in soil in a variety of physical and chemical forms, ranging from simple ions and molecules to larger molecular weight forms, such as compounds with soil organic matter. During the prognosis of migration in soil and entrance of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am, and 244Cm to plant, it is necessary to consider specific character of distribution of radionuclides on different fractions of soil organic matter. The radionuclides have extensive, complex and organo-metallic chemistry. To investigate the extent of association of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am, 90Sr and 137Cs with soil organic matter, gel filtration was applied to the soil solution obtained from the top layers of forest soil within the 10 km zone of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl. Not enough information is available about interaction of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am and 244Cm of Chernobyl origin with humic and fulvic acids in soil. (orig.)