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Airborne radioactivity measurements from the chernobyl plume

  • Applications of Radioanalytical Techniques
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Abstract

Airborne gamma-ray measurements were made aboard the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) DC-3 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) King Air research aircraft before and during the first passage of the Chernobyl radioactive cloud over the west coast of the North American continent. Measurements were made from Anchorage, Alaska south to Reno, Nevada. Calculated trajectories were used to estimate the location of the Chernobyl plume. The in-situ gamma-ray analysis systems first detected the cloud on May 8, 1986. Subsequent analysis of concurrently collected air filters indicated that the leading edge of the plume was just reaching the west coast of the United States on May 6, 1986. The ratios of the observed volatile radionuclides (131I and134Cs normalized to137Cs) agreed with the reported discharge ratio.

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References

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Author notes

  1. J. F. Boatman

    Present address: Air Quality Group, Environmental Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 80309, Boulder, CO, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest Laboratory, 99352, Richland, Washington, (USA)

    E. A. Lepel, W. K. Hensley, J. F. Boatman, K. M. Busness, W. E. Davis, D. E. Robertson & W. G. N. Slinn

Authors
  1. E. A. Lepel
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  2. W. K. Hensley
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  3. J. F. Boatman
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  4. K. M. Busness
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  5. W. E. Davis
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  6. D. E. Robertson
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  7. W. G. N. Slinn
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Additional information

Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle Memorial Institute under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830.

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Lepel, E.A., Hensley, W.K., Boatman, J.F. et al. Airborne radioactivity measurements from the chernobyl plume. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 123, 7–19 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02036379

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02036379

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