Evaluation of soil radioactivities using pedologically based sampling techniques.

J R Meriwether; S F Burns; R H Thompson; J N Beck

doi:10.1097/00004032-199509000-00015

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Evaluation of soil radioactivities using pedologically based sampling techniques.

J R Meriwether·S F Burns·R H Thompson·J N Beck

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Abstract

A new type of soil sampling protocol is suggested which has applicability to surveys of environmental radioactivity. Often there is a higher concentration of radionuclides in the lower B horizon than in the upper A horizon of well-drained, well-developed soils. It is recommended that soils be sampled pedologically, i.e., by soil horizon, rather than incrementally in depth. An example is given from a site in northern Louisiana where surface and/or the classical 15 cm ("six-inch") deep sampling could lead to erroneous conclusions regarding anthropogenic contamination.

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J R Meriwether, S F Burns, R H Thompson, J N Beck. 1995. Evaluation of soil radioactivities using pedologically based sampling techniques.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199509000-00015

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