Monitoring of ¹³⁷Cs fallout in Syrian environment

This paper presents measurements of cesium 137 ((137)Cs) in the Syrian environment during the period between 2006 and 2010. More than 1,000 samples of soil, water, plants and aquatic life were collected from different locations. The measurements were realized using gamma spectroscopy, and the results showed that radioactivity concentrations were low overall. Concentrations ranged from below detection limits to several tens Bq kg(-1) (dry matter) or 9.8 mBq L(-1) (water), which were well below maximum allowable levels in food or drinking water as established according to Syrian national standards or the WHO/FAO Codex guidelines. However, high (137)Cs activity levels were observed in soil samples collected at a high elevation (Kadmous highs), where a mean concentration of 1,900 Bq kg(-1) was obtained.