The release of anthropogenic radionuclides into the environment can occur as the result of medical isotope production, weapons testing, nuclear accidents, nuclear reactors, and nuclear reprocessing. Resuspension of radionuclides can occur during activities such as environmental remediation and/or natural disasters. Several studies have evaluated the resuspension of anthropogenic radionuclides from natural disasters such as forest fires in areas around Chernobyl [1][2][3][4]. During September 2020, forest fires broke out all along the west coast of North America and smoke from the burning fires was collected on air samples in Richland, WA. The samples were analyzed for 239,240,241,242 Pu, 237 Np, 90 Sr, and 137 Cs by thermal ion mass spectrometry (TIMS), gross alpha beta (GAB), or gamma emission analysis (GEA). Filters that collected resuspended particles from the forest fires showed elevated levels of 242 Pu, 237 Np, 137 Cs, and 90 Sr relative to global background. Data
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