Radiocaesium in natural systems - a UK coordinated study

This review summarizes the findings of a research programme in the UK following the Chernobyl accident. The projects provide a degree of integrated coverage of environmental transfers of radiocaesium from cloud deposition through studies of soil chemistry and soil-plant uptake to measured and modelled transfers along food chains. The results highlight the spatial and temporal variability of environmental transfer parameters and emphasize the need for care both in experimental design and in generalizations on magnitudes of nuclide transfer. (author)