First results on 236U levels in global fallout

Sakaguchi, Aya; Kawai, Kozo; Steier, Peter; Quinto, F.; Mino, Kenta; Tomita, Junpei; Hoshi, Masaharu; Whitehead, N. E.; Yamamoto, Masayoshi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.01.058

Cited by 143 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

108

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A more recent study of nuclear weapons produced 236 U, 239 Pu and 240 Pu archived in a Porites Lutea coral from Enewetak Atoll (Froehlich and others, 2017) showed that in this archive the measured Pu and 236 0.09, however, is in good agreement with information from the literature, e.g. 0.18-0.33 for an Arctic ice core (Wendel and others, 2013), 0.235 ± 0.014 from global fallout (Sakaguchi and others, 2009) or 0.05-0.50 for Stratospheric fallout (Ketterer and others, 2007). It is interesting to note that this ratio is significantly higher in aquatic systems, e.g.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

See 1 more Smart Citation

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Estimated values are ∼1 tonne (Sakaguchi and others, 2009). Other sources of anthropogenic 236 U are the reprocessing plants in La Hague and Sellafield, respectively, with a total release of ∼100 kg ( Casacuberta and others, 2014;Christl and others, 2015a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The precipitated Fe(OH) 3 was re-dissolved with 12 M HCl and the solution was adjusted to a concentration of 10 M HCl. Purification of U and Pu was performed according to Sakaguchi et al (2009Sakaguchi et al ( , 2010. For the measurement of 236 U and 239,240 Pu with AMS, the cathode was prepared as U or Pu oxide in a Fe 2 O 3 matrix.…”

Section: Fig 1 Map Showing Sea and Riverine Water Sampling Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic determination of U, Pu and Cs in environmental waters following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Recently, increasing attention is being paid to the determination of 236 U/ 238 U at the level typically present in the environment (Fifield 2008;Quinto et al 2009;Sakaguchi et al 2009); these studies have demonstrated the potential of 236 U to serve as a tracer for geomorphologic processes and as sensitive fingerprints of releases from nuclear facilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of ²³⁶U AMS at CIRCE

Cesare

Guan

Quinto³

et al. 2010

Radiocarbon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Actinide isotopes are present in environmental samples at ultra-trace levels ( 236 U concentration is quoted to be on the order of pg/kg or fg/kg). Their detection requires the resolution of mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, but only accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has the sensitivity required. In order to perform the isotopic ratio measurements of actinides, such as 236 U/ 238 U, an upgrade of the Center for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage accelerator (CIRCE) in Caserta, Italy, has been performed. The system was originally equipped for radiocarbon AMS measurements. The main difficulty of AMS measurement of 236 U is the intense neighboring beam of 238 U. Although most of the 238 U ions are suppressed by means of magnetic and electrostatic elements, a small fraction of this intense beam can interfere with the rare isotopes. This paper reports the preliminary results of the 236 U/ 238 U isotopic ratio measurement limit (<5.6 × 10 11 ), aimed also to better understand the origin of background ions. For this purpose, a large 16-strip silicon detector providing spatial resolution has been used. In addition, calculations to assess the performance of the system obtained by adding a high-resolution time of flight-energy (TOF-E) detector are discussed. INTRODUCTIONThe processing of material for nuclear power plants (NPPs) and nuclear weapons (NW) together with all the activities correlated with production, transport, and reprocessing of nuclear fuel, has led to the release of a wide range of radioactive elements in the environment, such as uranium, plutonium, and fission and activation products. Since the relative concentrations of uranium and plutonium can vary from site to site, depending on the nature of the source material and on its subsequent irradiation history, all these sources do not contribute equally to the contamination in a given site. The long-lived radionuclide 236 U (the half-life of 236 U is 2.3 × 10 7 yr) is present in environmental samples at ultra-trace levels. Measurement of these isotopic ratios requires mass spectrometric techniques, but only AMS offers the sensitivity needed to measure 236 U/ 238 U at natural levels (10 9 to 10 13 ) because of its capability to suppress the background of isobaric molecules such as 235 UH  .Conventional mass spectrometry, like thermal ionization (TI-MS) or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), suffers from isobaric interferences of hydrides, 235 UH  , and from 238 U; the detection limits of these techniques for 236 U/ 238 U are 10 10 and 10 7 , respectively. Recently, increasing attention is being paid to the determination of 236 U/ 238 U at the level typically present in the environment (Fifield 2008;Quinto et al. 2009;Sakaguchi et al. 2009); these studies have demonstrated the potential of 236 U to serve as a tracer for geomorphologic processes and as sensitive fingerprints of releases from nuclear facilities.In nature, U stable abundant isotopes exist. For this reason, the sensitivity limit for the i...

show abstract

First results on 236U levels in global fallout

Cited by 143 publications

References 31 publications

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

Isotopic determination of U, Pu and Cs in environmental waters following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Optimization of ²³⁶U AMS at CIRCE

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

First results on 236U levels in global fallout

Cited by 143 publications

References 31 publications

239,240Pu and 236U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

239,240Pu and 236U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

Isotopic determination of U, Pu and Cs in environmental waters following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Optimization of 236U AMS at CIRCE

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

^239,240Pu and ²³⁶U records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan (Central Asia)

Optimization of ²³⁶U AMS at CIRCE