Assessment of the radioactivity of environmental samples by SSNTD technique

Plant samples collected from Transdanubia and spring water samples collected from highlands of Lake Balaton were measured by alpha autoradiography with a CR-39 detector. Standards were made in order to examine the influence of the sample matrix on the correlation between the track density and radioactivity concentration. The effective range of uranium alpha particles in grass ash was found to be 1.35x10-3 g/cm2 and that of the dry residues of water 8.26x10-4 g/cm2. The nominal uranium concentration of the spring water samples collected in 1989-90 was found to be 0.5-3 μg/l and that of ash samples 0.15-0.25 ppm. For the plant samples collected just after the Chernobyl accident this value was 0.5-2 ppm. (author)