On 2 and 3 May 1986, parts of the radioactive cloud from Chernobyl were over the UK. As a result of rainfall on those two days, measurable amounts of several radionuclides were deposited on ground surfaces, predominantly by wet deposition, in some parts of the UK. Measurements in the following September in Cumbria showed that some common urban construction materials had intercepted and retained significant fractions of the radiocaesium incident on surfaces. Retention ranged from 3% for hard, semi-glazed roofing tiles, to more than 50% for Marley roof tiles. The interception/retention factors were derived by comparison with caesium on soil and were derived from the 134Cs data. The results point to a need to understand the fate of radiocaesium in surface drainage systems and sewage treatment plants and emphasise the importance of considering forced decontaminaion in nuclear accident contingency planning.
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F.J. Sandalls (1987) studied this question.