Radioactive contamination of cistern waters along the Croatian
coast of the Adriatic sea by 90Sr.
Health Phys 1999 Jul;77(1):62-6 (ISSN: 0017-9078) Franic Z; Lokobauer N; Marovic G
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, PO Box 291, Ksaverska cesta 2, HR-10001 Zagreb, Croatia.
Measurements of radioactive contamination of water samples from cisterns collecting
rainwater containing fission products from roofs and other surfaces have been carried
out along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic sea since 1968. An exponential decline of
radioactivity followed the nuclear moratorium. After the nuclear accident at Chernobyl,
higher levels of 137Cs and 90Sr were detected again, with cistern waters being the
only environmental samples in Croatia in which elevated 90Sr activities persisted for
several years. For the pre-Chernobyl period, the observed mean residence time of
90Sr in cistern waters, estimated to be 6.2 ± 1.9 y, was similar to that calculated for
fallout. Contrary, for the post-Chernobyl time, observed 90Sr mean residence time
was calculated to be considerably shorter, reflecting the tropospheric mean residence
time. The annual dose for the critical adult population received from 90Sr and 137Cs
by drinking cistern water was estimated to be very small, in the 1990's less than few
microSv y-1.