Concentration and characterization of plutonium in soils of Hubei in central China.
J Environ Radioact
; 101(1): 29-32, 2010 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19800153
ABSTRACT
To study the Pu concentration and isotope ratio distributions present in China, the (239+240)Pu total activities and (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratios in core soil samples from Hubei Province in central China were investigated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The activities ranged from 0.019 to 0.502 mBqg(-1) and the (239+240)Pu inventories of 45 and approximately 55 Bqm(-2) agree well with that expected from global fallout. The (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratios in the soil ranged from 0.172 to 0.220. The ratios are similar to typical global fallout values. Hence, any close-in fallout contribution from the Chinese nuclear weapons tests, mainly conducted in the 1970s, must have either been negligible or had a similar (240)Pu/(239)Pu ratio to that of global fallout. The top 10 cm layer of the soil contributes approximately 90% of the total inventory and the maximum concentrations appeared in the 2-4 cm or 4-6 cm layers. It is suggested that climatic conditions and organic content are the two main factors that affect the vertical migration of plutonium in soil.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Radioactive Fallout
/
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive
/
Plutonium
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
J Environ Radioact
Journal subject:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Year:
2010
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China