Underground Sources of Radioactive Noble Gas

Journal Article · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):869-876

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2214-z· OSTI ID:1091445

Hayes, James C.; Bowyer, Ted W.; Cordova, Elsa A.; Kirkham, Randy R.; Misner, Alex C.; Olsen, Khris B.; Woods, Vincent T.; Emer, Dudley

It is well known that radon is present in relatively high concentrations below the surface of the Earth due to natural decay of uranium and thorium. However, less information is available on the background levels of other isotopes such as 133Xe and 131mXe produced via spontaneous fission of either manmade or naturally occurring elements. The background concentrations of radioxenon in the subsurface are important to understand because these isotopes potentially can be used to confirm violations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) during an On-Site Inspection (OSI). Recently, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) measured radioxenon concentrations from the subsurface at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS—formerly known as the Nevada Test Site) to determine whether xenon isotope background levels could be detected from spontaneous fission of naturally occurring uranium or legacy 240Pu as a result of historic nuclear testing. In this paper, we discuss the results of those measurements and review the sources of xenon background that must be taken into account during OSI noble gas measurements.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1091445
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-89975; 830403000
• Journal Information: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):869-876, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 296(2):869-876
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

radioxenon
noble gas
soil gas sampling
CTBT
On-Site Inspection
OSI