Uranium fallout from nuclear-powered satellites and volcanic eruptions
Radiochemical measurements were carried out uranium isotopes in a total of 77 rain and snow samples collected at Fayetteville (36/sup 0/N, 94/sup 0/W), Arkansas, during the period between April 1983 and July 1985. The presence of excess /sup 235/U was detected in many of the rain samples and it was attributed to the fallout from the nuclear reactor on board the Soviet satellite Cosmos-1402, which fell over the South Atlantic Ocean on 7 February 1983 (Bakhtiar, 1985). Meanwhile, marked increases in the concentrations of naturally-occurring uranium and thorium isotopes were observed in rain samples collected during 1983 and these increases were attributed to the fallout from the 1982 eruption of El Chichon volcano in Mexico. At the beginning of 1984, the /sup 235/U//sup 238/U ratio in rain water was rapidly decreasing and it appeared as if the effects of both the 1982 eruption of El Chichon and the 1983 fall of the nuclear-powered satellite Cosmos-1402 on the concentration of uranium isotopes in rain water would dissipate and the levels of uranium in rain would soon return to normal during the early part of 1985. Sharp increases in the /sup 234/U//sup 238/U ratios in rain were observed during the months of May and June 1085. These results most likely indicate the effects of delayed fallouts from the two events-the 1982 eruption of El Chichon and the 1983 fall of cosmos-1402.
- Research Organization:
- Arkansas Univ., Fayetteville (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6930370
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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FALLOUT
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RADIOACTIVE AEROSOLS
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VOLCANIC GASES
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
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ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
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053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects