Plutonium Isotopes in the Terrestrial Environment at the Savannah River Site, USA. A Long-Term Study

Armstrong, Christopher R.; Nuessle, Patterson R.; Brant, Heather A.; Hall, Gregory; Halverson, Justin E.; Cadieux, James R.

doi:10.1021/es504147d

Title: Plutonium Isotopes in the Terrestrial Environment at the Savannah River Site, USA. A Long-Term Study

Journal Article · Fri Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Environmental Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/es504147d· OSTI ID:1146964

Armstrong, Christopher R. ^[1]; Nuessle, Patterson R. ^[1]; Brant, Heather A. ^[1]; Hall, Gregory ^[1]; Halverson, Justin E. ^[1]; Cadieux, James R. ^[1]

Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

This work presents the findings of a long term plutonium study at Savannah River Site (SRS) conducted between 2003 and 2013. Terrestrial environmental samples were obtained at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in A-area. Plutonium content and isotopic abundances were measured over this time period by alpha spectrometry and three stage thermal ionization mass spectrometry (3STIMS). Here we detail the complete sample collection, radiochemical separation, and measurement procedure specifically targeted to trace plutonium in bulk environmental samples. Total plutonium activities were determined to be not significantly above atmospheric global fallout. However, the ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu activity ratios attributed to SRS are above atmospheric global fallout ranges. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratios are reasonably consistent from year to year and are lower than fallout, while the ²⁴²Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratios are higher than fallout values. Overall, the plutonium signatures obtained in this study reflect a mixture of weapons-grade, higher burn-up, and fallout material. This study provides a blue print for long term low level monitoring of plutonium in the environment.

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Research Organization:: Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC09-08SR22470

OSTI ID:: 1146964

Report Number(s):: SRNL-L2200-2014-00067

Journal Information:: Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 3; ISSN 0013-936X

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 7 works

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