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Impact of soil incorporation of biochar on environmental radioactivity
Author(s) -
Szewczak Kamil,
Jednoróg Sławomir,
Wołoszczuk Katarzyna,
Szlązak Radosław,
Podgórska Zuzanna,
RafalskaPrzysucha Anna,
Gluba Łukasz,
Łukowski Mateusz
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.1002/jeq2.20014
Subject(s) - biochar , charcoal , environmental chemistry , environmental science , pyrolysis , human decontamination , radionuclide , contamination , chemistry , soil science , waste management , ecology , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , engineering , biology
Biochar (charcoal made from biomass in the pyrolysis process) has found broad application in agriculture. It helps to improve both the physical and chemical properties of soil through decontamination of heavy metals and pesticides. This work examines the potential for biochar application to improve the radiological condition of soil. We investigated the activity concentration of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil samples collected from fields treated with various doses of biochar (in 1–100 Mg ha −1 ). In addition, we directly measured radon emission rate at the experimental fields. The analyses were performed using gamma spectrometry and an active method for radon emission using an AlphaGUARD instrument equipped with an accumulation box. The results of activity concentration assessments for six radionuclides, five natural and one anthropogenic, show that the only effect of biochar application into the soil is associated with the reduction of soil bulk density by this material. The radon emission rate increased by 6 mBq m −1 s −1 , on average, depending on the biochar dose (from 1 to 100 Mg ha −1 ). Our results demonstrate that application of biochar into soil kept without vegetation had a limited influence on the radioactivity in the environment.