Measurement of Danube sediment radioactivity in Serbia and Montenegro using gamma ray spectrometry

The radionuclide content of 54 sediment samples collected from 18 locations distributed along the Vojvodina part of the Danube was determined by means of low-level, high-resolution gamma-spectroscopy. Beside the members of the natural radioactive chains of 238U, 232Th and the natural 40K, 137Cs content of Chernobyl origin was also detected. The data obtained are compared with those collected during four years starting after the Chernobyl accident, and the elimination rate of 137Cs from the river ecosystem is discussed. No traces of after-Chernobyl 137Cs were found. The radioactivity of the Danube sediment is now similar to the pre-Chernobyl era.