RE: Cs-137 in soil

[Cristian Nicolau <cnicolau@interlog.com>]

Hi to all,
In some places in Europe you can see not only Cs-137 but Cs-134 in the environmental samples. Last year I began an environment monitoring program using "in situ" gamma spectrometry and I could see in most of my spectra far away from nuclear sites not only Cs-137 but Cs-134. I used a portable 5% HPGe and a Canberra InSpector and about three hours acquisition time. The measurements area is about 600km SW of Chernobyl. As a metaphor, radioactive cesium became a component of the natural background after 1986 in some places, some of them at a certain distance from Chernobyl. 

Best regards,
Cristian Nicolau
cnicolau@interlog.com