[en] Oxygen-free aqueous solutions of 0.05 mol dm^-3 ammonium and sodium bicarbonate were studied after receiving various doses of ⁶⁰Co gammas (0.01-400 kGy) or 0.5-20 Gy pulses of 10 Mev electrons. Formate and oxalate were found to be the main radiolytic products, in addition to trace amounts of formaldehyde and an unidentified polymer. A large initial yield of formate in the γ-radiolysis, G(HCOO^-) = 2.2, is due to the reaction COO^- + HCO₃^-↔ HCOO^- +CO₃^-. The efficiency of organic synthesis within the large dose range studied is low and is explained by efficient pathways leading to the reformation of bicarbonate, where the reaction COO^- + CO₃^- is particularly significant. (author)