• Proceedings of the Korean Quaternary Association Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.7-11
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• 2005

The soil erosion processes have estimated using spatial distribution of 137Cs radionuclide in Granite and Sedimentary Hillslopes in South Korea. The local variability of 137Cs inventory indicates that was related positively to organic matter content, clay content and water content and negatively to hydraulic permeability and slope gradient for bulk samples in different landforms within Granite and Sedimentary rock basins. The vertical variability of 137Cs inventory shows that most of 137Cs concentration and organic matter were accumulated between 0 and 2cms and gradually decrease with soil depth in incremental samples in both basins. The vertical variability of 137Cs inventories shows that 137Csinventories increase as we go to toward downslope in both basins. Finally, the soil loss values indicate that hillslope erosion processes are more intensive in Granite rock basin than those in Sedimentary rock basin.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2022

Background: Residential areas have some factors on the external exposure of residents, who usually spend a long time in these areas. Although various survey has been carried out by the government or the research institutions after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the mechanism of radiocesium inventory in the terrestrial zone has not been cleared. To better evaluate the radiation environment, this study investigated the temporal changes in air dose rate and ¹³⁷Cs inventories (Bq/m²) in residential areas and agricultural fields. Materials and Methods: Air dose rate and ¹³⁷Cs inventories were investigated in residential areas located in an evacuation zone at 5-8 km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. From December 2014 to September 2018, the air dose rate distribution was investigated through a walking survey (backpack survey), which was conducted by operators carrying a γ-ray detector on their backs. Additionally, from December 2014 to January 2021, the ¹³⁷Cs inventories on paved and permeable grounds were also measured using a portable γ-ray detector. Results and Discussion: In the areas where decontamination was not performed, the air dose rate decreased faster in residential areas than in agricultural fields. Moreover, the ¹³⁷Cs inventory on paved surfaces decreased with time owing to the horizontal wash-off, while the ¹³⁷Cs inventory on permeable surfaces decreased dramatically owing to the decontamination activities. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the horizontal wash-off of ¹³⁷Cs on paved surfaces facilitated the air dose rate decrease in residential areas to a greater extent compared with agricultural fields, in which the air dose rate decreased because of the vertical migration of ¹³⁷Cs. Results of this study can explain the faster environmental restoration in a residential environment reported by previous studies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.6
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• pp.669-675
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of land use change in the forest catchment on sedimentation rate at the outlets of rivers in Kushiro Mire that have been impacted by forest clearing, agricultural activity and river regulation. We analysed Caesium-137(Cs-137) concentration in sediment cores, and we estimated sedimentation rates and Cs-137 inventories over the last 50 years. Cs-137 from atomic bomb testing first entered the environment in 1954 which provides easily identifiable chronological markers in the sediment. Because Cs-137 is strongly absorbed into sediment particles, its redistribution occurs in association with sedimentary particles. Since the 1950s, the forest catchment areas draining into the mire have been developed intensively from forest areas to agricultural lands. The sediment accumulations at the outlets of rivers after 1954 ranged from 36 to 148 cm. The Cs-137 inventory is significantly greater than the reference sites which reflected natural accumulation conditions because sediment containing Cs-137 was carried from catchments into the outlets of the rivers. In addition, the Cs-137 inventory was correlated with the sedimentation rate. However, the Cs-137 inventories in Kuchoro and Kushiro river profiles were slowly increased with the sedimentation rates. This is because the sediment originating from scoured areas such as streambeds and banks contains a low level of Cs-137 concentration.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 1998

The cumulative deposition of $^{137}Cs$ in the soil of Korea has been studied. Using ${\gamma$-ray spertrometry, the conrentrations of $^{137}Cs$ were determined for the soil samples collected to a depth of 20 cm. The average accumulated depositions of $^{137}Cs$ were estimated roughly to be 2,501 ${\pm}$ $m^{-2}$ in the forest and 1,058 ${\pm}$ 322 Bq $m^{-2}$ in the hill. The inventory value of $^{137}Cs$ in the forest is about two times higher than that in the hill. Except for some cases, the concentrations of $^{137}Cs$ in the undisturbed soils decreased exponentially with increasing the soil depth. The influences of rainfall, organic matter content, clay content and pH on the deposition of $^{137}Cs$ were studied using the field method. Among these factors, the organic matter content played the most important role in the retention and relative mobility of $^{137}Cs$ in the soil. The other factors such as rainfall, clay content and pH showed weak correlation with the deposition of $^{137}Cs$ in the soil.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.197-204
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• 2004

Vertical distributions of $^{137}Cs\;and\;^{90}Sr$ activities are studied for the soils of six areas, Korea (Gori, Yeonggwang, Uljin, Weolseong, Goseong and Jeju). The soils from 6 areas are at geographically different locations with the different environmental conditions and parent rook. The activities of $^{137}Cs\;and\;^{90}Sr$ vary N.D.(below detection limit) to 185 Bq/kg and 2.79 - 8.06 Bq/kg, respectively. Activities of $^{137}Cs\;and\;^{90}Sr$ show the highest value at the surface soil and decrease with depth. $^{137}Cs$ activities at the top surface soils are positively correlated with annual precipitation and organic carbon content with little relationship with mean grain size and the clay content. The highest $^{137}Cs$activities are found at the Jeju site, followed by the Goseong site of which soils have much different parent rock and textural properties. Though the activities of $^{137}Cs\;and\;^{90}Sr$ on the basis of dry weight are higher in Jeju soils than in Goseong soils, their inventories are similar in both soils due to their textural differences.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4265-4271
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• 2022

Determination of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K and ²¹⁰Po in water, bottom sediments and suspended matter of river systems of the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam was carried out. The average activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in waters of Ca Gau and Long Tau was 0.89 ± 0.14 and 1.08 ± 0.15 Bq m^-3 and was comparable to the levels of this radioisotope in waters of the East Sea. The activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in bottom sediments was 2.23 ± 0.81 and 3.63 ± 1.24 Bq kg^-1. The activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in water and bottom sediments could be characterized as low. So, the water areas of the Ca Gau and Long Tau rivers could be attributed to areas with insignificant pollution by technogenic radionuclides. The ²¹⁰Po activity concentration in bottom sediments of the Ca Gau and Long Tau rivers ranged from 9.2 ± 1.2 to 25.5 ± 2.1 Bq kg^-1, which is typical for river bottom sediments. Such values indicate the absence of anthropogenic enhancement of the entry of this radionuclide into the Can Gio river systems. The ⁴⁰K activity concentration varied within 467 ± 42-651 ± 39 Bq kg^-1 and represented typical values of potassium content in the bottom sediments of coastal water bodies, subject to a significant influence of the lithogenic component of suspended matter.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.3-13
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• 2001

Dissolved /sup 137/Cs, /sup 239.240/Pu, /sup 238/Pu and /sup 90/Sr contents in winter and spring of the Yellow Sea were determined to describe the distribution of artificial radionuclides. Surface water samples (100 liter) were collected by using a submerged pump, and subsurface samples (>10m depth) were collected using a 10L Niskin water sampler mounted to the Rosette sampler. The levels in the surface water ranged between 1.78～3.38 mBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 137/Cs, 2.17～13.35 μBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 239,240/Pu, and 1.97～3.96 mBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 90/Sr, respectively. In particular, the concentration of /sup 239.240/Pu were 1/10 of those in the vicinity of Changjiang estuary (61～83 μBq kg/sup -1/). The difference of /sup 238.240/Pu concentration between surface and bottom water was <3.0 μBq kg/sup -1/in the Yellow Sea. It suggests that in the Yellow Sea which has shallow and high suspended sediments, /sup 239.240/Pu is preferentially removed from the water columm. The water column inventory of /sup 239.240/Pu in the Yellow Sea constitute about 0.7～0.9 % of the estimated fallout input to the area. The activity ratios of /sup 239.240/Pu//sup 137/Cs and /sup 137/Cs//sup 90/Sr ranged between 0.001～0.005, 0.79～1.65, respectively, and similar to those of open ocean which global fallout is the only source of artificial radionuclides. Therefore, it suggests that most of these artificial radionuclides in the Yellow Sea may be controlled by the atmospheric input.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.281-299
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• 2017

The inventory management of radionuclides is essential for the safe management of disposal facilities. In this study, we compared the activity of dry active waste predicted using the generated waste data and that measured for the accepted waste in the disposal facility. For very low level waste, the measured activity was higher than the predicted activity for $^{137}CS$, $^{90}Sr$, $^{99}Tc$ and $^{129}I$. In low level waste, the predicted activity was higher than the measured activity for all radionuclides. We also evaluated the variation in the predicted quantity and total activity of each level of dry active waste through a sensitivity analysis on a scaling factor. This result will contribute to the construction of a Safety Case and safe operation of disposal facilities.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.489-500
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• 2022

The decommissioning of nuclear facilities produces various types of radiologically contaminated waste. In addition, dismantlement activities, including cutting, packing, and clean-up at the facility site, result in secondary radioactive waste such as filters, resin, plastic, and clothing. Determining of the radionuclide content of this waste is an important step for the determination of a suitable management strategy including classification and disposal. In this work, we radiochemically characterized the radionuclide activities of filters used during the decommissioning of Korea Research Reactors (KRRs) 1 and 2. The results indicate that the filter samples contained mainly ³H (500-3,600 Bq·g^-1), ¹⁴C (7.5-29 Bq·g^-1), ⁵⁵Fe (1.1- 7.1 Bq·g^-1), ⁵⁹Ni (0.60-1.0 Bq·g^-1), ⁶⁰Co (0.74-70 Bq·g^-1), ⁶³Ni (0.60-94 Bq·g^-1), ⁹⁰Sr (0.25-5.0 Bq·g^-1), ¹³⁷Cs (0.64-8.7 Bq·g^-1), and ¹⁵²Eu (0.19-2.9) Bq·g^-1. In addition, the gross alpha radioactivity of the samples was measured to be between 0.32-1.1 Bq·g^-1. The radionuclide concentrations were below the concentration limit stated in the low- and intermediatelevel waste acceptance criteria of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and used for the disposal of the KRRs waste drums to a repository site.