Americium in the marine environment-relationships to plutonium. [Comparison of /sup 241/Am with /sup 239/Pu and /sup 240/Pu]
The behavior of /sup 241/Am in the marine environment, and by analogy other transplutonium nuclides, is compared and contrasted with that of /sup 239/,/sup 240/Pu. Radiochemical data for these nuclides in seawater, sediments, and organisms contaminated mostly by global fallout, are used to generate the ratio /sup 241/Am//sup 239/,/sup 240/Pu. It is used as an index of fractionation between Pu and Am. The average value for this ratio (0.20) found in shallow nearshore sediments is proposed as representative by mid-73 of integrated, unfractionated fallout at mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. No fractionation between Am and Pu has been found in these sediments even under conditions when they are being lost from the sediment following upward vertical migration. Higher ratios in deep ocean water and sediments suggest that Am sinks more quickly than Pu in the water column. Data for some marine organisms, mostly algae, suggest that while Am may frequently be concentrated to a degree similar to that for Pu, some organisms may discriminate against, others in favor of, Am relative to Pu.
- Research Organization:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Mass. (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 7152010
- Report Number(s):
- COO-3563-36; CONF-750672-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
$sup 239$Pu, $sup 240$Pu, and $sup 241$Am contamination of vegetation in aged fallout areas
Plant uptake of /sup 239-240/Pu and /sup 241/Am from soil containing aged source materials
Related Subjects
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1989)
520302 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Aquatic Ecosystems & Food Chains-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALGAE
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM 241
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOMASS
COASTAL WATERS
DEPTH
DIFFUSION
DIMENSIONS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FALLOUT
FALLOUT DEPOSITS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
MIXING
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SEAS
SEAWATER
SEDIMENTS
SURFACE WATERS
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES