¹³⁷Cs in flowers, pollen and honey from the Republic of Croatia four years after the Chernobyl accident

Abstract - ¹³⁷Cs concentration was measured in flowers, pollen and honey, samples of which were collected from the Republic of Croatia 4 years after the Chernobyl accident. Radioactivity of ¹³⁷Cs was measured by gamma-spectrometry. Cesium in honey corresponds well with ¹³⁷Cs contamination of territory in the Republic of Croatia. Activity of ¹³⁷ Cs in pollen which is higher than in honey indicates that cesium behaves analogously to potassium. The results show that equal cesium concentration in the surface soil layer results in higher cesium activities in honey in the case of meadow flowers, ie honey bee pasture, than in cases when pasture is based on bush and tree flowers. Cesium activity average in honey, collected from the Republic of Croatia territory, is < 1 % of the permissible level of 600 Bq/kg.