ISSN:
1588-2780
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
Notes:
Abstract Intertidal coastal and estuarine sediments from 24 sites in the Irish Sea have been analyzed for99Tc,237Np,238Pu,239,240Pu and241Am. The237Np activity and239Pu/240Pu ratio were measured simultaneously by ICP-MS, and99Tc was determined by HR-ICP-MS which is ten times more sensitive than Q-ICP-MS. The activities of99Tc,237Np,239,240Pu and241Am were distributed over a wide range of 1.5–70.5, 0.01–13.3, 2.3–1589, 2.6–1894 Bq/kg, respectively. Activities of these radionuclides decreased exponentially with distance from the Sellafield source. The241Am/239,240Pu and237Np/239,240Pu ratios were almost constant with distance from the Sellafield. This result suggests that the distribution and behavior of Np and Pu are controlled by complicated factors such as the influence of transport, the variation with time of Np/Pu ratio in the Sellafield discharges and sedimentary mixing processes in the Irish Sea.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02037434
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