Radioecological investigations in the environment of the Research Centre Seibersdorf and of a comparable control biotop in Klosterneuburg

Investigations concerning the distribution of radionuclides were carried out on the area and the closer surroundings of the Seibersdorf Research Center and a comparable control biotop in Klosterneuburg. No environmental encroachment on the biosphere could be shown even after 20 years of operation of the research plant (10MW). Gammaspectrometric measurements and radiochemical analysis of various animal samples proved that contaminations found were in most cases due to fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapon testing in the early sixties. Only single surveys give hints of small quantities of 60-Co being spread. Maximum concentrations of 60-Co 0.5 pCi/g dry weight were found in those samples, which is about the value of fallout concentration of radiocaesium and may be neglected from the point of view of health physics. Additionally soil radioactivity investigations were done to estimate the part of total radioactivity which is spread by animals. Results showed that only 10sup-4 of the total quantity of fallout deposited radionuclides present in a soil layer of some square meters and a depth of 10 cm are spread by the investigated animals. (author)