Concentration and characterization of plutonium in soils of Hubei in central China |
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Authors: | Wei Dong L Keith Fifield |
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Institution: | a State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China b Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia |
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Abstract: | To study the Pu concentration and isotope ratio distributions present in China, the 239+240Pu total activities and 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in core soil samples from Hubei Province in central China were investigated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The activities ranged from 0.019 to 0.502 mBq g−1 and the 239+240Pu inventories of 45 and ∼55 Bq m−2 agree well with that expected from global fallout. The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the soil ranged from 0.172 to 0.220. The ratios are similar to typical global fallout values. Hence, any close-in fallout contribution from the Chinese nuclear weapons tests, mainly conducted in the 1970s, must have either been negligible or had a similar 240Pu/239Pu ratio to that of global fallout. The top 10 cm layer of the soil contributes ∼90% of the total inventory and the maximum concentrations appeared in the 2-4 cm or 4-6 cm layers. It is suggested that climatic conditions and organic content are the two main factors that affect the vertical migration of plutonium in soil. |
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Keywords: | Plutonium 239+240Pu activity 240Pu/239Pu ratio Soil AMS Hubei China |
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