Effects of ameliorative measures on the radiocaesium transfer to upland vegetation in the UK

The use of soil amendments to immobilize 137Cs in the soil and/or reduce its uptake by plants was investigated. Field plots in contaminated upland areas of the British Isles (Cwm Eigiau and Corney Fell) was treated with AFCF (ammonium ferric hexacyanoferrate), bentonite, clinoptilolite and muriate of potash (potassium chloride). The 137Cs concentration of vegetation and soil were monitored for three years after treatment. The 137Cs concentration and transfer coefficient of vegetation from both treated and control plots exhibited a seasonal variation with peaks in early summer and were affected by plant species. Some treatments, particularly muriate of potash and clinoptilolite, produced marked reductions in the 137Cs transfer coefficient of the bulk vegetation and individual species especially at Cwm Eigiau.