Graduate School
8-1962
Recommended Citation
Ritchie, Jerry Carlyle, "Distribution of Fallout Cesium-137 in Litter, Humus, and Surface Soil Layers Under Natural Vegetation in the
Great Smoky Mountains. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1962.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1427
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been
accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information,
please contact trace@utk.edu.
A The si s
P re sented to
the Grad uate Coun c i l of
The U n ive r sity of Tenne ssee
by
Je rry Carlyle R i tchie
August 1 962
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The aut hor w i she s to thank t he members of his committee who
he l pe d prepare t he manuscr ipt .
and Dr . J. S . O l son whose sugge st ions were both t ime l y and he lpf ul .
Thank s are t o be g iven t o the He alth P hysics Whole B ody Counting
Laborat ory at O ak R i d ge , Tenne ssee for the use of t he ir gamma spe ct r ometer and t o P . E . B r own f or his assist ance with t he use of the
spe ct r omete r .
The work
was d one through a Unive rsity cont ract ua l proje ct supported by the
United State s Atomic Ene r gy C ommi ssion .
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION
I.
PAGE
INTRO DUCTION .
II .
III .
I V.
MET HODS
11
Fie ld Method s
11
11
. .
12
12
Computat ions of Net Count s P er M inute (CPM ) and Disinte grat i ons Per M inute (DPM )
S o i l Analys is
V.
VI
13
14
39
40
B IBLIOGRAPHY.
AP PE NDI X.
15
45
iii
LI ST OF TABLES
P AGE
TABLE
I.
II .
I II.
10
Layers
16
at
the
VI .
L:yecs
and
18
in Gram s
Cubic
Per
20
VI I I .
17
22
IX.
Factorial De s ign
31
XI I .
XI .
24
X.
35
..
iv
. .
..
..
""
37
LIST OF FIGURES
P AGE
FIGURE
1.
Graphical Met hod of Str ipp ing a Sampl e Spe ct rum int o its
C omponent P arts
2.
St and
23
"
26
27
Inch Soil
..
the
7.
6.
5.
3.
30
33
I.
INTRODUCTION
During the
detonat ion of a nuc l e ar dev i ce some 170 radioact ive i s ot ope s are pro
duced .
emitt ing f i s sion products which have sufticie ntly l ong ha l f - l ive s t o be
import ant in world- wide fallout (Table I, adapted from Mortensen 1 9 6 1 ) .
The purpose of th is study was t o meas ure t he amount of ce s ium- 1 3 7 in
the or gan ic l ayer s and t op four and one -half inche s of mineral soil in
re pre sentat ive evergreen and de ciduous fore st st ands of the Gre at Smoky
Mount a in s of North Carol i na and Te nne s see wit h emphasis on it s d i stri
but i on and movement downward t hrough t he s oil.
TABLE I
PRINCIPAL GAMMA-EMITTERS OF WORLD-WIDE FALLOUT IMPORTANCE
Half-lifea
Isotope
Cs- 1 37
B a-1 37
27 ye ar s -- 2 . 6 minute s
Ru- 1 0 6 - - Rh- 1 0 6
1 . 0 years -
Ce - 1 44 -- P r-144
Zr-95 -- Nb-95
6 5 days -- 3 5 days
3 0 sec ond s
- Rh- 1 0 3
39.8 days
57 minute s
1 2 . 8 days
40 m in ute s
Ru-103
a.o days
II.
T he United St at e s
to
195 0 .
of
From t his
The U nited St at e s We at he r
T he n in 1 95 4
the USAEC through var ious organ i z at ions began t o s tudy wor ld-wid e f al l
out .
t he above pr ogram and has s ince d one e xte n s ive work on stront ium- 9 0 in
s oil (United St at e s At omic Ene rgy Commis s ion 1 9 6 0) .
3
4
Many of the early pub l ished rep ort s ( E i s e nbud and H arley 1 9 5 3 ,
1 955, and L ibby 1956 , 19 5 8 ) we re o n stud ie s o f r ad ioact ive fall out
patte rns .
of
I n t he
They found no me as ur
Oc tober 1957 t he amount of ces ium-1 37 was f ound t o h ave incre ased t o
37 mill e cu r ie s (me.) pe r s qu are mi le (Gu s t afs on, Mar i ne l l i , and Brar
1 95 8 a) .
me.
At t he same t ime
I n June
of 1 960 Gus t a f s on, Br ar , and Kerr ingan ( 1 9 6 0 ) c o nc lude d t hat the amount
of ce s ium-137 and othe r f is s ion- produced gamm a- r ay e mitte r s had reac hed
5
a max imum and was now d e c l ining at a rate c l ose l y re lated t o the ir hal f
live s .
me.
although 201 me . per s quare mile had been re p orted in O c t obe r 1959
( Gust af s on , Mar ine l l i and B rar 1 959 ) .
Other worke r s s uch as We l ford and C ol l ins ( 1 9 6 0 ) have reported
the a mount o f ind i vidual gamma-ray emit ters in rainwate r .
Lundbl om
( 1 96 2) , Gus t a f s on, Kerr ingan, and B rar (1961), and othe r s have re ported
on the amount of ces ium- 1 37 in t he air at ground l e ve l .
L junggren
( 1 96 0), work ing in N orway, and O l s on (1 9 6 1 ) , work ing in Tenne s see , have
re ported on t he ga mma-ray em itte rs in living plant mat e r ial ( e s pe c ia l l y
t re e leave s ) .
III.
The study area was the Great Smoky Mount ain s Nat ional Park
(GSMNP).
He f ound t he
at 1460 f e e t t o 45.8 F .
at 6300 feet and the mean annual pre c i p i t at i on r anged f r om 57.8 inche s
a t 1460 feet to 90.9 inches at 6300 fee t .
The approximate
11.
1961 and
September 1 3, 1961.
1.
L oc ated on a s outhe as t
at an e l e vat ion of
7
approx imately 6600 feet.
and Abie s frase r i .
at bre ast he ight .
2.
L oc ated on a north-
fol ium .
fac in g slope
on
L oc at e d on a n orth-
Ne wfound Gap t oward Cl inans D ome , GSMNP , at an e le vat ion of app roximately 5200 feet .
Locat ed on a south-
splendens.
8
5.
Located on a south
fac ing s lope on t he s out h s ide of t he Appalachian Trail 0.8 miles from
Newfound Gap t oward Clingmans Dome , GS MNP , at an elevation of approxi
mate ly 5200 fee t .
Located on a north
T he understory consisted
Located on a north
herbs.
B.
Located o n a s outh
fac ing s lope on t he s out h side of highway US 441 at t he west end of the
Chimneys P ark ing Are a, GSMNP , at an e levat i on of
fee t .
a p pr oxima t e l y 3400
9
The under st ory was made up of
Located o n a s outh
fac ing s lope on the nort h s ide of highway US 441 100 yard s we st of t he
Chimneys Park ing Are a , GS MNP , at an e l e vat ion of approx imat e ly 3400
fee t .
The ground
c over was made up of dense stand s of broad- leaved herbs and fe rns .
10.
on
Located on a le ve l are a
10
TABLE II
S UMMARY OF STAN D DE SCRIPTIONS
Ve get at ion
S ite
As pe ct
66E
6 6 00
Southe ast
Spruce -F ir
HNE
5200
Nort h
Spruce-F ir
HND
5200
North
B ir ch-Bee ch
HSE
5200
Sout h
Spruce-F ir
HSD
5200
S outh
Bee ch-B ir ch
LNE
3 400
North
Heml ock
LND
3400
North
C ove Hardwood
LSE
340 0
S out h
Heml ock
LSD
3 40 0
S out h
Cove Hardwood
1 4E
1 400
Le ve l
P ine
IV.
METHODS
F ie ld Me thods
Fore st f l oor and s o il c o l l e ct i on .
fully r aked away and the mater ial und er the cardb oard was col lected by
l ayers ( L itter or L l aye r , F l aye r , and H l aye r , Lut z and Chand le r
1946 ) .
The s ample s were pl aced in l abe led cont a iners and br ought t o
the l aboratory .
S ample s of the mineral s oil at al l s it e s we re colle cted by
p l ac ing a s ix- inch- s quare p ie ce of cardb oard in the mid d le of the
m ine r al s o il e xposed b y the c o l l e ct ion of t he f ore st f l oor s ample s .
One of two method s was used in t he col l e ct i on of the mineral s o il
s ample s .
12
only when it was impos sible t o use the f irst method , the s o i l was care
fully dug out with a knife and a s mal l hand shove l .
in t he prof ile were inc l uded in the sample.
pl aced in l abe led conta iners and brou ght to the lab orat ory .
Laboratory Method s
C ount ing .
It
HND
Thus
The c ontaine r s we re
One crystal
gave bette r r e s olut ion t han t he 2 x 4 inch crystal but was not as
e f f ic ie nt .
13
with e ach crystal and subtracted f r om t he gross count bef ore the d ata
we re pr inted out by the anal yzer .
After
d ry ing e ach 1 0 0 gram sample was t horou gh ly mixed wit h enough soil t o
give a s t andard w ith count ing ge ome t ry s im ilar t o that of the so i l
s ample s .
was determined by subt ract ing the count s of a b l ank sample of m i neral
s oil of the s ame type as that of the "sp ike d " s o il f rom the c ount s of
t he "sp ike d " s o i l .
inc he s deep was s t r ipped of it s pot a s s ium-40 act ivity and used a s a
st and ard for t hor ium-uranium .
f or thor ium .
P ot a s sium chl or ide was used a s the st andard for pot as sium-
40 .
Comput at ion s of c ount s f!E minute ( CPM ) and d i s inte grat i on s
per m inute ( DPM) .
made by graphically str ipp ing t he s pectra of stand ard s from the s pe ctrum
of the s ample ( F i gure 1 in Re sult s and D i scus s ion ) .
Th is is d one to
14
cor re ct f or s catt e r rad iat ion in the phot ope ak of the i s ot ope meas ured
( Gu s t af s on, Mar ine l l i , and B rar 1 958 ) .
semi- l og graph pape r .
above , a s i mple mathemat ical f ormula was de r ived which could be u sed
t o make e s t imat e s of CPM in the s ample s be ing stud ied (Append ix ) .
c ompar i s on of t he two met hod s is pre sented in Table VIII and d is cus sed
in the Re su l t s and D i s cu s s i on.
After CPM f or an is ot ope were determine d , DPM for t he isot ope
we re dete rmined by c ompar i s on with CPM of a s t and ard of the same is o
t ope ( Append ix) .
S oil anal y s is .
1 9 5 6 ) , the Swain C ounty s oil survey ( P er k ins and Gettys 1 9 47) , and a
ge o l o g i c map of East Tenne s see ( Rodge r s 1 9 5 3 ) made po s s ib le gene ral
ident if i cat ion of prob ab l e s o il type and ge ol ogic mate r ial .
The se
V.
S ites f our
The
ge ol ogic mat e r ial f or s ites one through nine was Great Smoky conglomerate wh i le the parent mater ial at s ite ten was alluvium from
t he L it t le P ige on R iver , surrounded by and pr incipall y d e r i ved from
the L owe st part of t he O c oee ser ie s ( Rodge r s 1 9 5 3) .
Mechan ical analy s i s of the mineral s o il (Table III ) s howed that
t he s oi l was moder ately c oarse textured ( sandy l oam ) .
16
TABLE I I I
P ARTICLE S I ZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE 1 .5- TO 3-INCH SOIL LAYERS
FROM THE DIFFERENT SITES
S ite
S and
S ilt
C lay
Te xtural C l as s a
6 6E
38
55
S i l t l oam
HNE
63
51
S andy l oam
HND
62
35
S andy l oam
HSE
54
40
S andy l oam
HSD
58
36
Sandy l oam
LNE
50
42
Loam
LND
62
30
Sandy l oam
LSE
75
23
Loamy s and
LSD
80
15
Loamy s and
1 4E
68
29
Sand y l oam
17
TABLE IV
THICKNES S OF THE ORGANIC LAYERS
(L , F,
AND
H)
S ite
Or ganic Layer s
F
66E
0.5
1.5
0.5
HNE
0.5
2.0
3.0
HND
0.5
1.0
HSE
0.5
2.0
HSD
0.5
0.75
LNE
0.5
1.5
LND
0.5
1.0
LSE
0.5
1.5
LSD
0.5
1.5
14E
0.5
2.0
3 .5
3.0
2.5
0.5
18
TABLE V
WEIGHT OF THE UNINCO RPO RATED O RGANIC MATTER IN THE L , F , AND H LAYERS
IN TON S PER ACRE AT EACH SITE
L ayer
S it e
1 4. 1 8 a
66E
3 . 12
HNE
2 . 34
1 3. 78
HND
1 . 41
4 . 94
HSE
2 . 01
1 1 . 31
HSD
1 . 59
2 . 86
LNE
1 . 84
6 . 46
LND
1 . 48
5 . 27
L SE
1 . 92
6 . 23
L SD
2 . 07
4 . 77
14E
1 . 24
a p and H l ayers.
Total
17.30
19 .52
3 5.61+
6. 3 5
26.30
39.62
4. 45
27. 29
3 5.59
6.7 5
29 . 1 4
37.29
6.84
6 .5 7
7.81
19
t he great est accumul at ion o f or gan ic mat t er , wit h t h e HNE , LNE , and
LSE s t and s in t he s ame r ange.
( LNE and LSE ) was about twice the amount reported by McG inni s (1 9 58 )
f or a hem l ock-hardwood st and , but this i s b el ieved t o b e due t o a
d if f erence in t ype of st and s .
organ ic mat t er accumu lat ion in the HNE , HSE , LNE , and LSE st and s , t he
amount being approximat el y two t imes t he amount in t he L and F layers
in t he HNE and HSE s t and s and approximat el y f our t imes t he amount in
t he L and F l ayers in t he LNE and LSE s t and s .
Th is is
20
TABLE VI
B ULK DENSITIES OF THE VARIOUS LAYERS IN GRAMS
PER CUBIC CENTIMETER AT EACH SITE
Organ ic L ayers
S it e
0. 06
FINE
0. 04
0. 1 2
FIND
0. 03
0. 09
HSE
0. 04
0. 1 2
HSD
0. 03
o .o a
LNE
0. 03
0. 1 1
LND
0. 03
0. 09
LSE
0. 04
0. 1 1
L SD
0. 04
o.oa
14E
0. 02
aF and H l ayer s .
0. 1 7
0. 1 8
0. 1 6
0. 1 7
0. 1 2 a
3-4 . 5
Inc hes
0. 7 0
0. 8 9
1 . 02
0. 45
0. 49
0.64
0. 40
0. 56
0. 62
0.6 9
0. 7 8
0.8 3
0. 45
0. 56
0. 78
0. 64
0. 6 6
N .D .
0. 38
0. 56
o. 71
0. 3 6
0. 66
1 . 00
0. 28
0. 37
0. 4 0
1 . 01
1 . 41
1 . 49
O. l 3 a
66E
M ineral So il
1. 5- 3
Inches
0 1.5
I nches
21
r ep orted by M cGinn i s ( 1 95 8 ) in his stud y of f or est humus t ypes of East
Tennes s ee .
The pH o f t he H l ayer o f t he spruce- f ir s tand s (Tab l e VII) was
in t he same r ange r eport ed by McGinnis ( 19 5 8 ) .
The pH of t he mineral
The pH und er
4.5
f ound
met hod s u s ed
F i gure 1 shows
22
TABLE VII
pH OF THE H LAYER AND THE THREE ARBI TRARY LAYERS OF MINERAL SO I L
0-1 . 5
I nches
Layer s
1 . 5- 3
I nches
3 -4 . 5
I nches
3. 42
3 . 30
3.48
3. 05
3 . 45
3 . 45
3 . 40
3. 65
3 . 65
3. 20
3 . 80
3 . 70
3. 70
3 . 55
3 . 44
3 . 20
3. 52
N . D.
4 . 85
4 . 85
4. 9 0
3 . 01
3. 32
3 . 22
LSD
4 . 32
5 . 08
4.56
1 4E
4. 72
4. 62
4. 60
Site
66E
HNE
3. 1 1
HND
HSE
3 . 22
HSD
LNE
3 . 15
LND
LSE
3 . 25
----
23
4000
"
0-1.5 Soil Horizon
"
Crystal
33
Net Spectrum
K-40 removed
Th -u removed
1000
C/)
I.LI
...
::::>
- -
Cs-137 removed
Ru -106 removed
\ .
0
"'
.J\
0::
I.LI
Q..
C/)
...
z
::::>
0
0
100
-.!:'\\.
o
'
.._
... '-..:
../ .
'\, \
It
\ .
.
\ \
IOL------------------'-------0
0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80
1.00
1.2 0
I .40 1.60 1.80
ENERGY IN ME\J
FIGURE
24
TABLE V I I I
CX>MPARISON OF TWO METHODS USED TO OBTAIN CO UNTS P ER 2 0 MINUTES
DUE TO CESI UM-1 3 7 IN THE CESI UM- 1 37 PHOTOPEAK
Samp l e
Grap hical
Met hod
D ifference 8
%
6 6 00 L
3140
3 1 94
+1 . 7
6 6 00 F
9570
9678
+1 . 1
6 6 00 0- 1 . 5
2130
1992
-6.9
6 6 00 1 . 5- 3
910
983
+7 . 4
6 6 00 3-4 . 5
395
374
-5.6
25
in the m ineral s o il .
t yp ic al spect r a of t he various l ayers wit h t he d om inance of t he c es ium1 3 7 and the l ow amount o f ot her fis s ion-produced gamma- emit t ers in the
mat er i al .
due t o t he fact t hat there had b een no maj or nuc l ear t est f or approx i
mat el y t hree years ( fall of 1 958 ) be f ore t he col l ect i on of mat er i al was
mad e and therefore most of t he act ivity of the short -l ived gamma-em itt ers
was gone (Lundb l om 1 962 ) .
ot her f is s ion-produced gamma-ray emitters pres ent t hat were id ent if iab l e
in t he s amp l es .
Ces ium- 1 37 .
This is appr ox i
F igure 7 s hows
The
26
10
Aoo Horizon
2x4 C r ystal
1.&.1
1-::::>
z
Cs-137
a::
1.&.1
a..
en
1-z
::::>
0
(.)
--_.------------
0
0.20
0.40
0.60 0.80
1.20
L40
1.00
L60
1.80
ENERGY IN
MEV
FIGURE 2
TYPICAL SPECTRUM OF THE LITTER (L)
LAYER,
500
2 00
10 0
Ao
Horizon
2x 4 Crystal
lU
1:::l
z
a:
lU
n.
10
(/)
1z
:::l
0
0
-----------------------------0
0.20
0.40 060 0.80
1.80
1.00
1.20
1 .60
1.40
ENERGY IN MEV
FIGURE
TYPICAL JPECTRUH OF THE FEI<HENTATIOi'J
(F)
LAYER,
28
200
100
0-15
3x 3
Crystal
L&J
t
K-40
a::
L&J
10
0
(.)
----------
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
ENERGY
FIGURE
TYPICAL
SPECTRUM OF THE
0-1.5
1.20
1.40
----
IN MEV
4
TAKEN
29
20
10 0
3x 3
Crystal
:::>
z
a:::
w
a.
(/)
10
z
:::>
0
0
---------0
0.20
0.40
0.60 0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
ENERGY IN
FIGURE
TYPICAL SPECTRUM UF THE
1. '5-3
MEV
5
STNW
30
200
100
3-4.5"
Soil Horizon
3 x 3"
Crysta I
L&J
::l
z
a:
LIJ
a.
10
(/)
z
::l
0
(.)
-- ----
020
0.40
0.60
0.80
LOO
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
ENERGY IN M EV
FIGURE
TYPICAL SPECTH.TJ!1 UF THE
3-4.5
TABLE I X
DI STRIBUTION OF CESI UM-1 37 IN THE VARIOU S LAYERS EXPRESSED IN MILLICURIES P ER SQUARE MILE ,
SEPTEMBER 1 , 1 9 6 1
Evergreen
9 0. 9
43 . 8
N ort h
Evergreen
90. 0
37 . 5
235 . 9
33 . 1
5 2 00
N orth
De ciduous
90. 0
19 . 0
186 . 4
--
5 2 00
South
Eve r green
90. 0
30. 3
213. 6
7 0. 9
5 2 00
South
De ciduous
90. 0
17 . 8
75 . 2
3400
N orth
Eve rgreen
76.3
10. 4
86.1
1 08 . 3
3400
North
De ciduous
76.3
6.1
9 1 .6
--
3400
South
Evergreen
76 . 3
9.8
75 . 5
94. 6
3 400
South
De c iduous
76 . 3
5.4
73.2
1 4 00
Le ve l
Evergreen
57 . 8
9.1
E levat ion
Feet
Exposure
6 600
Southea s t
5 2 00
Cove r
1 21 . 3 a
77 . l
3-4. 5
I nche s
T ot a l
1 35 . 9
66 . 1
19.0
386 . 0
1 9 .8
0. 3
4.5
331 . 1
1 04 . 2
17 . 7
6.9
3 34 . 2
25 . 5
N.D.
N .D .
340. 3
1 93 . 6
44 . 8
17. 4
348 . 8
33. 3
8.2
N .D .
246 . 2
1 55 . 1
32 . 7
10.5
296 . 0
66. 9
11 . 1
12.4
270. 3
84 .5
89 . 6
32 . 6
285 . 3
138. 5
26. 8
5.2
256 . 9
aF and H l aye r s .
I.N
......
32
TABLE X
ANALYSI S OF VARIANCE OF TOTAL CESI UM- 1 37 WITH E LEVATION ,
COVER TYPE , AND EXPO SURE : FACTORIAL DESIGN
S ourc e
d .f .
ss
El evat ion
82 30 . 4
Exposure
E rror I
MS
8230 . 4 .
60 8 . 76a
173 . 0
1 73 . 0
1 2 . 79
13.5
13.5
Cover
729 .6
729 . 6
3 . 61
Gov . x E lev.
353 . 8
353 . 8
1 . 75
Gov. x Exp .
1 08 . 0
1 08 . 0
0 . 54
Error I I
202 . 0
202 . 0
Total
9810 . 4
33
0
0
0
w
0
0
c._
&O.
w
w
ou..
0.
O
vz
0
s
Oz 0
00;;::
oro
>
w
o
o...J
ow
(\J
0
0
0
0
--*-----o--o----10
0
v
1.0
ro
at!W
0
ro
bs/ow
If)
N
L1-S:l
!'-
34
T he d if f e rence in t he d i st ribut ion of ce s ium- 1 37 with e le vat ion
seems most c l ose ly re l ated t o t he amount of pre c ip it at i on an area re
ce ived .
Othe r worker s
Gu s taf s on
The d at a show
t hat 8 0 % of the ce s ium- 1 37 act ivity was in t he organ ic matter and uppe r
inch and one -hal f of mine ral s oil in t he de c iduous s t and s and 9 6 % was
in t he s ame l aye r s in the e ve r green s t and s .
t he 3-4 . 5 inch s o i l l aye r wh ile here the r ange was from 2% in the
35
TABLE XI
DI STRIBUTION OF CESI UM- 1 3 7 IN THE DIFFERENT LAYERS IN P ER CENT
OF THE TOTAL CESIU H-1 3 7
Dec iduous
%
Cover
Evergreen
%
36
49
Mat er ial
Organ ic Layers
27
M ineral Soil
0 - 1 .5 inches
40
13
27
1 .5 - 3 inches
15
3 -4 . 5 inches
36
evergreen to 5% in the deciduous.
of the soil is inferred from the work done by Cline (1960) on the move
ment of cesium-137 through a nine-inch soil column in the laboratory.
He found that 10% of the cesium-137 moved beyond the surface inch in
an acid soil when 300 column inches of well water, containing 261
micrograms of total solids per milliliter of water, was passed over
the column.
the water.
The per cent of cesium-137 in the organic matter under the ever
green was approximately 2.1 times that of the deciduous stands.
This
Natural gamma-emitters.
Potassium-40,
thorium,
and uranium
37
TABLE XII
DISTRIBUTION OF POTASSIUM-40 IN THE VARIOUS LAYERS
IN MICRO-MICROCURIES PER GRAM
Organ ic Layers
Site
F
1. 15a
66E
0,69
HNE
0,60
0,30
HND
0. 61
1. 30
HSE
0. 52
0. 34
HSD
0. 63
1.93
LNE
0, 24
0. 16
LND
0. 31
0. 92
LSE
0. 28
0. 35
LSD
0,45
1,04
14E
0,16
F and H layers.
1. 26
0. 62
0,81
0.34
1.138
-"
Mineral Soil
0-1. 5
1. 5-3
Inches
Inches
3-4. 5
Inches
2. ll
2. 24
2. 19
1. 88
2.93
2.08
2.88
2.78
3. 04
1. 42
1. 37
1. 68
2. 64
2. 57
2. 42
1. 76
2. 65
N.D.
2. 74
2. 81
3. 11
1. 27
2. 3 2
2. 81
1. 35
2. 15
3. 33
1.58
1. 47
1. 33
38
in the L , F, and H l ayers , a f act which should be kept in mind when
stud ying t hese d at a .
uranium showed no cons ist ent patt ern of change wit h d ept h .
The
VI .
SRY
The or gan i c l ayers and t hree one- and- one- ha lf- inch s o il l ayers
wer e col l ected at f our d if f erent el evat i ons and under two contras t ing
c over t ypes in t he Great Smoky Mount a ins .
carr ied out on t hem wit h a 200 channel RIDL pul s e height ana lyzer .
Tot al ces ium- 1 37 var ied f rom 246 . 2 t o 386 . 0 m i l l icur ies per
s quar e m i l e .
of ces ium- 1 37 w it h cover t ype or exposure but t her e was a s ignif icant
d if f erence at t he 9 5% conf i d ence l evel in t he d i str ibut ion of ces ium1 37 with el evat ion.
ces ium- 1 37 und er t he d eciduous stands and 9 6 % under t he ever green s t and s
were in thi s organ i c mat er ial and upper part of t he mineral s o il .
The other ident if i ab l e f is s ion-produced gamma- emit t er s pres ent
were rut hen ium- 1 06 and cerium- 1 44 which cont r ibut ed approximat ely 2 8 %
o f t he f i s s ion product a ct iv it y .
39
They pro
B IBLIOGRAPHY
B IBLIOGRAPHY
B aver , L . D .
Booke r , D. V .
1 95 6 .
1 959.
Soil P hysics.
Nature , 1 8 3:
9 2 1 -924 .
----1955 ) .
1 95 6 . Re port to t he committee on physical anal ysis ( 1954So i l Science Societ y Ame r ica P r oceed ings, 2 0: 1 67 -1 6 9 .
Fernald , M . L .
New York .
1 9 5 0.
Gray's Manual of B ot an y .
Science ,
41
42
1 959b . Radioact iv ity me asureme nt and d ose c a l c ul ation on
s oil col le cted at Ar gonne . pp . 5 3 -54 . In Rad iological Phys ics
D ivis ion Sem iannual Re p ort , January through J une , 1 959 . Argonne
N at ional Laboratory . Proce s sed Re p ort 6 049 . -- -l 9 5 9 c . Rat io of ce s ium-1 37 and stront ium-9 0 in t he s oil .
S c Lence , 1 3 0:
1 4 04-14 05 .
Gust af s on , P . F . , S . S . Brar , and M . A . Ke rr ingan . 1 96 0. Gamma-ray
s tud ie s on r ad ioact ive f a l l out in s o il . pp . 6 6 -67. In Rad io
l og ical P hys i c s D iv i s ion Semiannual Report , J anuary through J une,
1 9 60. Argonne Nat iona l L aboratory. P roce s sed Report 6 1 9 9 . -Gust af s on , P . F . , M . A . Ke rr ingan, and S . S. Brar .
1 9 6 1 . F i s s ion and
nat ural r ad i oact ivity in ground leve l air . pp . 8 1 -8 5 . In Rad io
l ogical Phys i c s D iv is ion Semiannual Re port, January t hrough June ,
-1 9 6 1 . Ar gonne Nat t onal Laboratory . P roce ssed Repor t 6 398 .
Gust af s on, P . F . , L . D . Mar ine l l i, and S. S . Brar .
1 9 5 7. Gamma-ray
emitt ing e lement s pre sent in t he so i l . pp. 1 8-2 1 .
In Radio
l ogical Phys ics D iv i s ion Sem iannual Re p ort , January t hr ough June ,
------
43
Kinsman , S imon ( ed . ) . 1 9 5 7 . Rad i ol ogical He alth Hand b ook . United
S t ate s Department of He a l t h , Ed ucat i on , and We l f are ; P ub l ic He a l t h
S ervice , Bure au of S t at e Service s , Robert A . Taft San it ary Engine er
ing Cent e r , C inc innat i , O h i o .
L ibby , W . F .
1 9 5 6 . Rad i oact ive f a l l o ut and rad ioact ive stront ium- 9 0 .
S c ience , 1 2 3 : 657 .
1 9 58 . Remarks pre pared by Dr . Libby . pp . 253-267 . In
Environmental Contaminat ion from We ap ons Test s . Health and Safety
Laboratory . P roce s s ed Re porr-42 .
L it t le , E . L . , J r . 1 9 5 3 . Che c k L i st of Nat ive and Nat ural ized Tre e s
-o f the Un ited St ate s ( InCIUd ing:Ala skaJ -. Forest Service . Agr i
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L j unggren , P .
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655-6 5 6 .
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1 1 04- 1 1 0 6 .
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J ohn W i ley
----
--
44
M ortenson , J . L .
343-348 .
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u.
s.
S c ie , 1 31 :
APP ENDI X
I.
pot a s s ium-40 ( Z 1 )
The thor ium-uran ium backs cat ter c orre ct ion ( Z 2 ) was determine d
b y gett ing the average r at io o f CPM of a t hor ium-uran ium st andard in
the ce s ium- 1 37 phot opeak to the CPM in the t hor ium-uran ium photopeak .
S ince the thor ium-uranium photopeak used had pot as s ium- 40 backs catt er
in it , a b ack s c atter correct ion ( Z 3 ) had t o be determined fo r p ot a s s ium4 0 in the thor ium-uran ium phot ope ak .
average rat i o of CPM of a potas s ium-4 0 standard in the t hor ium-uran ium
photopeak t o t he CPM in t he potas s ium-40 photope ak .
Then c omb i n ing the ab ove :
CPM a
CPMb -
[CPM c Z 1
( CPMd - ( CPM c Z 3 ) ) Z
whe re
CPMa is CPM in the ce s ium- 1 3 7 phot opeak due t o ce s ium- 1 37
CPMb i s t he t otal CPM in t he ce s ium- 1 3 7 photopeak
CPMc i s the CPM in the pot as s ium- 40 photopeak
CPMd i s the CPM in the t h or ium-uran ium photopeak
Z 1 i s the backs catter c orre ct i on for potas s ium-4 0 in the ce s ium1 37 photopeak
46
47
II.
DETERMINATION OF DPM
CPM 1 is t he c ount s per minute f or an
f or an i s ot ope in t he s ample
CPM 2 is the c ount s per minute f or a
standard of the i s ot ope in CMP 1
the r efore