Resuspension of coarse particles in the region of Chernobyl

Measurements of resuspension into air in the coarse particle range (> 10 mu m in aerodynamic diameter) were performed as part of a field measurement experiment at four sites around Chernobyl during wind-driven and anthropogenic enhanced resuspension (agricultural activities). Caesium-137 was used to quantify the magnitude of resuspension. The mean resuspension factor of coarse particles was between 1 x 10(-10) and 6 x 10(-10) m(-1) for wind-driven resuspension. During agricultural activities, the resuspension increased by up to three orders of magnitude. Coarse particles comprised about one-third of the total amount of resuspended Caesium-137. The activity size distribution of Caesium-137 was not uniform in the coarse particle range: approximately 44% of the activity was found in the range 10-20 mu m aerodynamic diameter. The determination of the number concentration of particles > 20 mu m aerodynamic diameter showed a linear relation between particle number and activity: the mean activity per particle was 0.75 +/- 0.15 mu Bq at the site Novozybkov, Russia. The resuspension factor was found to decrease exponentially with increasing relative soil moisture content. At higher soil humidity, the portion of coarse particles of the total resuspended activity was larger. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.