Speciation and behavior of 210Po and 210Pb in the riverine ecosystem of Cauvery, a major river of south India

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The paper discusses the speciation and behavior of ²¹⁰Po and²¹⁰Pb in the soil and sediment samples in the Cauvery River environment. The samples were collected and the concentration of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb was measured using the standard radiochemical analytical method. The physicochemical parameters of the soil and sediment were studied to understand the dynamics of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb activity in the riverine environment. The dependence of the physicochemical parameters like clay and organic matter content on the speciation of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in the riverine ecosystems were also studied. The mean activity of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in soil was found to be 6.80 and 6.58 Bq kg^–1, respectively. The mean activity of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in the sediment was found to be 3.30 and 6.34 Bq kg^–1, respectively. The activities of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in both the soil and sediment are not in equilibrium. The activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb were correlated with the organic matter content in both the soil and sediment samples. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to confirm the interrelation between the physicochemical parameters and the activity of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb.