Accumulation of \(\mathsf{{}^{137}Cs}\), \(\mathsf{{}^{90}Sr}\) and \(\mathsf{{}^{241}Am}\) in Forest Plants after Wildfires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Abstract

Soils and the tissues organs of plants (birch leaves, above-ground parts of smallreed, matgrass, mosses, and lichens) were sampled from sites after significant wildfires and from non-burnt reference sites in the Belarussian sector of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr, ²⁴¹Am in the samples were determined by gamma- and beta-spectrometry. In most cases, a tendency towards decreasing accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr and ²⁴¹Am in terrestrial plants growing on the sites exposed to fire was observed. Various factors influencing the accumulation of radionuclides by plants are discussed in the article.