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Stäger F, Zok D, Schiller AK, Feng B, Steinhauser G. Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons- 137Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:13601-13611. [PMID: 37646445 PMCID: PMC10501199 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Radionuclides released from nuclear accidents or explosions pose long-term threats to ecosystem health. A prominent example is wild boar contamination in central Europe, which is notorious for its persistently high 137Cs levels. However, without reliable source identification, the origin of this decades old problem has been uncertain. Here, we target radiocesium contamination in wild boars from Bavaria. Our samples (2019-2021) range from 370 to 15,000 Bq·kg-1 137Cs, thus exceeding the regulatory limits (600 Bq·kg-1) by a factor of up to 25. Using an emerging nuclear forensic fingerprint, 135Cs/137Cs, we distinguished various radiocesium source legacies in their source composition. All samples exhibit signatures of mixing of Chornobyl and nuclear weapons fallout, with 135Cs/137Cs ratios ranging from 0.67 to 1.97. Although Chornobyl has been widely believed to be the prime source of 137Cs in wild boars, we find that "old" 137Cs from weapons fallout significantly contributes to the total level (10-68%) in those specimens that exceeded the regulatory limit. In some cases, weapons-137Cs alone can lead to exceedances of the regulatory limit, especially in samples with a relatively low total 137Cs level. Our findings demonstrate that the superposition of older and newer legacies of 137Cs can vastly surpass the impact of any singular yet dominant source and thus highlight the critical role of historical releases of 137Cs in current environmental pollution challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Stäger
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Dorian Zok
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Anna-Katharina Schiller
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Bin Feng
- Institute
of Inorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Universität
Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
- TU
Wien, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center
Atominstitut, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg Steinhauser
- TU
Wien, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center
Atominstitut, 1060 Vienna, Austria
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2
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Influence of extraction process on Cs isotope ratios for Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident-contaminated soil. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-021-07760-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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3
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Shimada A, Tsukahara T, Nomura M, Kim MS, Shimada T, Takeda S, Yamaguchi T. Determination of 135Cs/ 137Cs isotopic ratio in soil collected near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station through mass spectrometry. J NUCL SCI TECHNOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/00223131.2021.1931520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asako Shimada
- Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Takehiko Tsukahara
- Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masao Nomura
- Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Min Seok Kim
- Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taro Shimada
- Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Seiji Takeda
- Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Tetsuji Yamaguchi
- Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
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4
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Zhu L, Hou X, Qiao J. Determination of low-level 135Cs and 135Cs/ 137Cs atomic ratios in large volume of seawater by chemical separation coupled with triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurement for its oceanographic applications. Talanta 2021; 226:122121. [PMID: 33676676 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Radioisotopes of cesium are powerful tracer for oceanographic studies. In this work, a novel method was developed for determination of ultra-low level 135Cs and 137Cs in seawater using triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). Cesium was pre-concentrated from up to 45 L seawater samples using ammonium molybdophosphate (AMP) adsorption, following a selective leaching of cesium using Sr(OH)2. The cesium was further purified from interfering elements using AMP-PAN and cation-exchange chromatography. Sr(OH)2 leaching was found to be an effective approach for selective exchange of cesium from the AMP sorbent without dissolution, which avoids the problem of separation of huge amount of NH4+ and MoO42- in the following steps. The decontamination factors for barium and rubidium with the developed method were more than 4 × 107 and 800, respectively. The separated 135Cs and 137Cs were measured using ICP-MS/MS by employing N2O as reaction gas to further elimination of isobaric (i.e. 135Ba and 137Ba) and polyatomic ions interferences. A detection limit of 1.5 × 10-16 g L-1 for 135Cs in seawater was achieved. The concentrations of 135Cs in seawater from Baltic Sea, Danish straits and Roskilde Fjord were determined using the developed method to identify the sources of 135Cs, the water masses exchange in this region was investigated using 135Cs and 137Cs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liuchao Zhu
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde, DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde, DK-4000, Denmark.
| | - Jixin Qiao
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde, DK-4000, Denmark
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5
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Zok D, Blenke T, Reinhard S, Sprott S, Kegler F, Syrbe L, Querfeld R, Takagai Y, Drozdov V, Chyzhevskyi I, Kirieiev S, Schmidt B, Adlassnig W, Wallner G, Dubchak S, Steinhauser G. Determination of Characteristic vs Anomalous 135Cs/ 137Cs Isotopic Ratios in Radioactively Contaminated Environmental Samples. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:4984-4991. [PMID: 33709694 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A contamination with the ubiquitous radioactive fission product 137Cs cannot be assigned per se to its source. We used environmental samples with varying contamination levels from various parts of the world to establish their characteristic 135Cs/137Cs isotope ratios and thereby allow their distinction. The samples included biological materials from Chernobyl and Fukushima, historic ashed human lung tissue from the 1960s from Austria, and trinitite from the Trinity Test Site, USA. After chemical separation and gas reaction shifts inside a triple quadrupole ICP mass spectrometer, characteristic 135Cs/137Cs isotope signatures (all as per March 11, 2011) were obtained for Fukushima- (∼0.35) and Chernobyl-derived (∼0.50) contaminations, in agreement with the literature for these contamination sources. Both signatures clearly distinguish from the characteristic high ratio (1.9 ± 0.2) for nuclear-weapon-produced radiocesium found in human lung tissue. Trinitite samples exhibited an unexpected, anomalous pattern by displaying a low (<0.4) and nonuniform 135Cs/137Cs ratio. This exemplifies a 137Cs-rich fractionation of the plume in a nuclear explosion, where 137Cs is a predominant species in the fireball. The onset of 135Cs was delayed because of the longer half-life of its parent nuclide 135Xe, causing a spatial separation of gaseous 135Xe from condensed 137Cs, which is the reason for the atypical 135Cs/137Cs fractionation in the fallout at the test site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorian Zok
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Tobias Blenke
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Sandra Reinhard
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Sascha Sprott
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Felix Kegler
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Luisa Syrbe
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Rebecca Querfeld
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Yoshitaka Takagai
- Fukushima University, Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan
| | - Vladyslav Drozdov
- State Specialized Enterprise "Ecocentre" (SSE "Ecocentre"), Chernobyl 07270, Ukraine
| | - Ihor Chyzhevskyi
- State Specialized Enterprise "Ecocentre" (SSE "Ecocentre"), Chernobyl 07270, Ukraine
| | - Serhii Kirieiev
- State Specialized Enterprise "Ecocentre" (SSE "Ecocentre"), Chernobyl 07270, Ukraine
| | - Brigitte Schmidt
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences, Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Wolfram Adlassnig
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences, Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gabriele Wallner
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sergiy Dubchak
- State Specialized Enterprise "Radon Association", Kyiv 03083, Ukraine
| | - Georg Steinhauser
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, 30419 Hannover, Germany
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Zhu L, Hou X, Qiao J. Determination of Ultralow Level 135Cs and 135Cs/ 137Cs Ratio in Environmental Samples by Chemical Separation and Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS. Anal Chem 2020; 92:7884-7892. [PMID: 32367719 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c01153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
An analytical method was developed for the determination of ultralow level 135Cs in environmental samples by chromatographic separation of cesium with AMP-PAN and AG50W-X8 columns and sensitive measurement of cesium isotopes with triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). Cesium was simply released by acid leaching using aqua regia from environmental solid samples and preconcentrated on AMP-PAN column. The cesium adsorbed on the column was effectively eluted with NH4Cl solution without dissolving the AMP. The excessive amount of NH4Cl in the eluate was removed by sublimation in the presence of small amount of LiCl. The remaining barium and other interfering elements such as Mo, Sn, Sb, and Li were efficiently removed using cation exchange chromatography (AG50W-X8). The decontamination factors of this procedure are above 4 × 107 for barium and 4 × 105 for molybdenum; the chemical yields of cesium are more than 85% for samples of less than 10 g. This method enables to separate cesium from large size of samples for the determination of ultralow level 135Cs, avoiding the problem of removal of a huge amount of Mo in the dissolved AMP. Intrinsic 137Cs in the environmental samples measured by gamma spectrometry before and after separation was used as internal isotope dilution standard for quantitative determination of 135Cs without complete release and recover of radiocesium. The interference of barium (135Ba and 137Ba) to the ICP-MS measurement of 135Cs and 137Cs was further suppressed to 8 × 10-5 by using N2O as the reaction gas in ICP-MS/MS at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min, so a total suppression of 2 × 10-12 for Ba was achieved, making the isobaric interference of Ba isotopes to the measurement of 135Cs and 137Cs in environmental samples negligible. A detection limit of 9.1 × 10-17 g/g for 135Cs and 137Cs was achieved for 60 g samples. The developed method was validated by analysis of standard reference materials (IAEA-375, IAEA-330, and IAEA-385) and successfully applied for the determination of 135Cs concentrations and 135Cs/137Cs ratios in soil samples collected from Denmark, Sweden, and Ukraine. The 135Cs/137Cs isotopic ratios in Danish soil (2.08-2.68) were significantly higher than that from Sweden and Ukraine (0.65-0.71), indicating different sources of radiocesium. This work demonstrated the application of 135Cs/137Cs as a unique fingerprint for discriminating the sources of radioactive contamination and estimating their contribution to the total inventory, which will be useful for nuclear forensics and environmental tracer studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liuchao Zhu
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Jixin Qiao
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
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7
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Zhu L, Xu C, Hou X, Qiao J, Zhao Y, Liu G. Determination of Ultratrace Level 135Cs and 135Cs/ 137Cs Ratio in Small Volume Seawater by Chemical Separation and Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2020; 92:6709-6718. [PMID: 32270673 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c00688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The atomic ratio of 135Cs/137Cs is a powerful fingerprint for distinguishing the source terms of radioactive contamination and tracing the circulation of water masses in the ocean. However, the determination of the 135Cs/137Cs ratio is very difficult due to the ultratrace level of 135Cs (<0.02 mBq/m3) and 137Cs (<2 Bq/m3) in the ordinary seawater samples. In this work, a sensitive method was developed for determination of 135Cs concentration and 135Cs/137Cs ratio in seawater using chemical separation combined with thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) measurement. Cesium was first preconcentrated from seawater using ammonium molybdophosphate-polyacrylonitrile column chromatography and then purified using cation exchange chromatography to remove the interferences. With this method, decontamination factors of 6.0 × 106 for barium and 1800 for rubidium and a chemical yield of more than 60% for cesium were achieved. By using glucose as an activator, the ionization efficiency of cesium was significantly improved to 50.6%, and a constant high current of Cs+ (20 V) can be maintained for more than 180 min, which ensures sensitive and reliable measurement of low level 135Cs and 137Cs. Detection limits of 4.0 × 10-17 g/L for both 135Cs and 137Cs for 200 mL seawater were achieved, which enables the accurate determination of 135Cs concentration and 135Cs/137Cs ratio in a small volume of seawater samples (<200 mL). The developed method has been validated by analysis of seawater reference material IAEA-443. Seawater samples collected from the Greenland Sea, Baltic Sea, and Danish Straits have been successfully analyzed for 135Cs concentrations and 135Cs/137Cs ratios, and the results showed that 135Cs concentrations in the seawater of the Baltic Sea is much higher than that in the Greenland Sea, which is attributed to the high deposition of Chernobyl accident derived radiocesium in the Baltic Sea region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liuchao Zhu
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Changkun Xu
- China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413, China
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Jixin Qiao
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Risø Campus, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Yonggang Zhao
- China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413, China
| | - Guorong Liu
- China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413, China
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8
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210Pb and 137Cs based techniques for the estimation of sediment chronologies and sediment rates in the Anzali Lagoon, Caspian Sea. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-019-06739-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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9
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Dunne JA, Richards DA, Chen HW. Procedures for precise measurements of 135Cs/137Cs atom ratios in environmental samples at extreme dynamic ranges and ultra-trace levels by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Talanta 2017; 174:347-356. [PMID: 28738591 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.06.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Revised: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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10
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Snow MS, Morrison SS, Clark SB, Olson JE, Watrous MG. 237Np analytical method using 239Np tracers and application to a contaminated nuclear disposal facility. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2017; 172:89-95. [PMID: 28340392 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Environmental 237Np analyses are challenged by low 237Np concentrations and lack of an available yield tracer; we report a rapid, inexpensive 237Np analytical approach employing the short lived 239Np (t1/2 = 2.3 days) as a chemical yield tracer followed by 237Np quantification using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. 239Np tracer is obtained via separation from a 243Am stock solution and standardized using gamma spectrometry immediately prior to sample processing. Rapid digestions using a commercial, 900 W "Walmart" microwave and Parr microwave vessels result in 99.8 ± 0.1% digestion yields, while chromatographic separations enable Np/U separation factors on the order of 106 and total Np yields of 95 ± 4% (2σ). Application of this method to legacy soil samples surrounding a radioactive disposal facility (the Subsurface Disposal Area at Idaho National Laboratory) reveal the presence of low level 237Np contamination within 600 m of this site, with maximum 237Np concentrations on the order of 103 times greater than nuclear weapons testing fallout levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew S Snow
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2805, USA; Washington State University, PO Box 644630, Pullman, WA 99164-4630, USA.
| | - Samuel S Morrison
- Washington State University, PO Box 644630, Pullman, WA 99164-4630, USA; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN J4-80, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, WA 99352, USA
| | - Sue B Clark
- Washington State University, PO Box 644630, Pullman, WA 99164-4630, USA; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN J4-80, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, WA 99352, USA
| | - John E Olson
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2805, USA
| | - Matthew G Watrous
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2805, USA
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11
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Enhanced adsorption of radioactive strontium ions from aqueous solution by H2O2-modified attapulgite. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-017-5184-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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12
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Shibahara Y, Kubota T, Fujii T, Fukutani S, Takamiya K, Konno M, Mizuno S, Yamana H. Analysis of cesium isotope compositions in environmental samples by thermal ionization mass spectrometry-3. J NUCL SCI TECHNOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/00223131.2016.1223560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuji Shibahara
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
| | - Takumi Kubota
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Fujii
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
- Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Fukutani
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
| | - Koichi Takamiya
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mitsuyuki Konno
- Nuclear Power Safety Division, Fukushima Prefectural Government, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Satoshi Mizuno
- Nuclear Power Safety Division, Fukushima Prefectural Government, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Hajimu Yamana
- Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Sennan, Osaka, Japan
- Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
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13
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Zheng J, Cao L, Tagami K, Uchida S. Triple-Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry with a High-Efficiency Sample Introduction System for Ultratrace Determination of 135Cs and 137Cs in Environmental Samples at Femtogram Levels. Anal Chem 2016; 88:8772-9. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b02150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zheng
- Biospheric Assessment for Waste Disposal Team & Fukushima Project Headquarters, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
| | - Liguo Cao
- Biospheric Assessment for Waste Disposal Team & Fukushima Project Headquarters, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
- School
of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Keiko Tagami
- Biospheric Assessment for Waste Disposal Team & Fukushima Project Headquarters, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
| | - Shigeo Uchida
- Biospheric Assessment for Waste Disposal Team & Fukushima Project Headquarters, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
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14
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135Cs activity and 135Cs/137Cs atom ratio in environmental samples before and after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24119. [PMID: 27052481 PMCID: PMC4823706 DOI: 10.1038/srep24119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
(135)Cs/(137)Cs is a potential tracer for radiocesium source identification. However, due to the challenge to measure (135)Cs, there were no (135)Cs data available for Japanese environmental samples before the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. It was only 3 years after the accident that limited (135)Cs values could be measured in heavily contaminated environmental samples. In the present study, activities of (134)Cs, (135)Cs, and (137)Cs, along with their ratios in 67 soil and plant samples heavily and lightly contaminated by the FDNPP accident were measured by combining γ spectrometry with ICP-MS/MS. The arithmetic means of the (134)Cs/(137)Cs activity ratio (1.033 ± 0.006) and (135)Cs/(137)Cs atom ratio (0.334 ± 0.005) (decay corrected to March 11, 2011), from old leaves of plants collected immediately after the FDNPP accident, were confirmed to represent the FDNPP derived radiocesium signature. Subsequently, for the first time, trace (135)Cs amounts before the FDNPP accident were deduced according to the contribution of global and FDNPP accident-derived fallout. Apart from two soil samples with a tiny global fallout contribution, contributions of global fallout radiocesium in other soil samples were observed to be 0.338%-52.6%. The obtained (135)Cs/(137)Cs database will be useful for its application as a geochemical tracer in the future.
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Snow MS, Snyder DC, Delmore JE. Fukushima Daiichi reactor source term attribution using cesium isotope ratios from contaminated environmental samples. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2016; 30:523-32. [PMID: 26777683 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.7468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Source term attribution of environmental contamination following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) disaster is complicated by a large number of possible similar emission source terms (e.g. FDNPP reactor cores 1-3 and spent fuel ponds 1-4). Cesium isotopic analyses can be utilized to discriminate between environmental contamination from different FDNPP source terms and, if samples are sufficiently temporally resolved, potentially provide insights into the extent of reactor core damage at a given time. METHODS Rice, soil, mushroom, and soybean samples taken 100-250 km from the FDNPP site were dissolved using microwave digestion. Radiocesium was extracted and purified using two sequential ammonium molybdophosphate-polyacrylonitrile columns, following which (135)Cs/(137) Cs isotope ratios were measured using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Results were compared with data reported previously from locations to the northwest of FDNPP and 30 km to the south of FDNPP. RESULTS (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios from samples 100-250 km to the southwest of the FDNPP site show a consistent value of 0.376 ± 0.008. (135)Cs/(137)Cs versus (134)Cs/(137)Cs correlation plots suggest that radiocesium to the southwest is derived from a mixture of FDNPP reactor cores 1, 2, and 3. Conclusions from the cesium isotopic data are in agreement with those derived independently based upon the event chronology combined with meteorological conditions at the time of the disaster. CONCLUSIONS Cesium isotopic analyses provide a powerful tool for source term discrimination of environmental radiocesium contamination at the FDNPP site. For higher precision source term attribution and forensic determination of the FDNPP core conditions based upon cesium, analyses of a larger number of samples from locations to the north and south of the FDNPP site (particularly time-resolved air filter samples) are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew S Snow
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-2805, USA
| | - Darin C Snyder
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-2805, USA
| | - James E Delmore
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-2805, USA
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16
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Yang G, Tazoe H, Yamada M. Rapid determination of 135Cs and precise 135Cs/137Cs atomic ratio in environmental samples by single-column chromatography coupled to triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Anal Chim Acta 2016; 908:177-84. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2015.12.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2015] [Revised: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 12/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Hardy EE, Eddy MA, Maynard BA, Gorden AEV. Solid state π–π stacking and higher order dimensional crystal packing, reactivity, and electrochemical behaviour of salphenazine actinide and transition metal complexes. Dalton Trans 2016; 45:14243-51. [DOI: 10.1039/c6dt02389d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Here, we describe and compare the synthesis, solution characterization, and solid-state behaviour of the salphenazine ligand and metal complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. E. Hardy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Auburn University
- Auburn
- USA
| | - M. A. Eddy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Auburn University
- Auburn
- USA
| | - B. A. Maynard
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Auburn University
- Auburn
- USA
| | - A. E. V. Gorden
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Auburn University
- Auburn
- USA
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Snow MS, Snyder DC. (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic composition of environmental samples across Europe: Environmental transport and source term emission applications. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2016; 151 Pt 1:258-263. [PMID: 26540258 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 10/24/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
(135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic analyses represent an important tool for studying the fate and transport of radiocesium in the environment; in this work the (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic composition in environmental samples taken from across Europe is reported. Surface soil and vegetation samples from western Russia, Ukraine, Austria, and Hungary show consistent aged thermal fission product (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios of 0.58 ± 0.01 (age corrected to 1/1/15), with the exception of one sample of soil-moss from Hungary which shows an elevated (135)Cs/(137)Cs ratio of 1.78 ± 0.12. With the exception of the outlier sample from Hungary, surface soil/vegetation data are in quantitative agreement with values previously reported for soils within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, suggesting that radiocesium at these locations is primarily composed of homogenous airborne deposition from Chernobyl. Seawater samples taken from the Irish Sea show (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios of 1.22 ± 0.11 (age corrected to 1/1/15), suggesting aged thermal fission product Cs discharged from Sellafield. The differences in (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios between Sellafield, Chernobyl, and global nuclear weapons testing fallout indicate that (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios can be utilized to discriminate between and track radiocesium transport from different nuclear production source terms, including major emission sources in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew S Snow
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2805, USA.
| | - Darin C Snyder
- Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2805, USA
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