Air Releases of ¹³⁷Cs from the Burning of Contaminated Biomass: a Review of Laboratory Research

V.K. Shynkarenko, A.M. Novikov

Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, NAS of Ukraine, 12, Lysohirska st., Kyiv, 03028, Ukraine

DOI: doi.org/10.31717/2311-8253.24.3.7

Abstract

Forest fires and biomass burning in radioactively contaminated areas present a potential risk of releasing accumulated radionuclides into the atmosphere. This article reviews the literature on caesium (Cs) emissions from laboratory simulations of burning contaminated biomass and presents results from a comparative analysis of 137Cs emissions during flaming and smouldering combustion. A sample of forest litter, collected in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, was burned in a specially designed furnace under both combustion modes. During flaming, 8.4% of 137Cs activity was recorded on an aerosol filter, whereas smouldering
combustion of another portion of the same sample released less than 1% into the atmosphere. These results align with existing literature and demonstrate a significant dependence of 137Cs emissions on combustion mode. The authors hypothesise that the decrease in 137Cs emissions during smouldering is due not only to lower temperatures but also to the condensation of volatile compounds in the layer of cooled ash that usually covers the smouldering zone. The discrepancies in emission factors found in the literature can be explained by the difference in the dispersed composition of the smoke fractions studied, the design features of the combustion chambers, and the use of the method of determining emission activity by residual ash activity. This method can cause overestimation of the results, since all activity losses in the experiment are automatically attributed to the emission with smoke. Discrepancies in emission coefficients across literature may be due to differences in the dispersed composition of smoke fractions as well as methodological variations, the design features of the combustion chambers, such as calculating emission activity based on ash residue. This latter method may lead to overestimation, as it assumes that all activity losses during the experiment are due to smoke emission. Consequently, the 137Cs emission factor for any given forest area should not be regarded as a fixed value, as it depends on initial fire conditions, including litter moisture, wind strength, and direction, which influence the balance between flaming and smouldering. Considering that most 137Cs activity in the Exclusion Zone’s forests is concentrated in the litter layer, where combustion regimes can vary significantly, these factors are essential to accurately assess radiation risks.

Keywords: forest fires, contaminated biomass burning, 137Cs smoke emissions.

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