Caesium-137 and potassium-40 in selected oxbow lakes of the border Bug River more than 20 years after the Chernobyl accident

摘要

The accumulation of caesium-137 (~(137)Cs, or radiocaesium) and potassium-40 (~(40)K.) was estimated in the bottom sediments and macrophytes (Phragmites australis) of oxbow lakes alongside the Bug River situated on the border between Poland and Belarus. The content of isotopes in the examined water reservoirs was found to be determined by the way the land around the reservoirs was used. The highest ~(137)Cs concentrations were detected in the sediment of an oxbow lake periodically flooded by the Bug River. The caesium concentration in the macrophytes was determined by the specific properties of sediment. The concentration of caesium in plants was negatively correlated with potassium concentration.