129I from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (U.K.) and La Hague (France); potential as an oceanographie tracer

Tracing variability in the iodine isotopes and species along surface water transect from the North Sea to the Canary Islands

“…Additionally, changes of 129 I marine discharges and ocean currents budget in the English Channel-North Sea region can also affect the 129 I distribution. For comparison, 129 I in seawater samples reported in the English Channel in 1995 were 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than the ones reported here, suggesting a fast and dramatic 129 I accumulation in the English Channel in the past 20 years [21].…”

The dissolved organic iodine species of the isotopic ratio of 129I/127I: A novel tool for tracing terrestrial organic carbon in the estuarine surface waters of Galveston Bay, Texas

“…The surface inventory of natural 129 I is 100 kg Raisbeck et al 1999). Because the half-life of 129 I is much longer than its residence time (τ) in surface environmental compartments, this isotope was well-mixed in the surface soil compartment (τ ≈ 1000 y) (Kocher 1981), the surface ocean (τ ≈ 100 y for the mixed layer, depth 0 to ~100 m) , and the atmosphere (τ ≈ 11-18 d) (Rahn et al 1976) before the nuclear age.…”

“…Because the half-life of 129 I is much longer than its residence time (τ) in surface environmental compartments, this isotope was well-mixed in the surface soil compartment (τ ≈ 1000 y) (Kocher 1981), the surface ocean (τ ≈ 100 y for the mixed layer, depth 0 to ~100 m) , and the atmosphere (τ ≈ 11-18 d) (Rahn et al 1976) before the nuclear age. Anthropogenic sources of 129 I include an added 150 kg (Eisenbud and Gesell 1997) through atmospheric bomb testing during 1945 through 1962, and 2360 kg from the discharged waste of nuclear fuel reprocessing at Cap de La Hague, France, and Sellafield, England, during 1966through 1997(Raisbeck et al 1999. In 1990, it was estimated that about 5660 kg of 129 I stored in spent reactor fuel had not yet been reprocessed (Michel et al 2002).…”

A review on speciation of iodine-129 in the environmental and biological samples

“…129 I is one of key radionuclides in the nuclear waste depository, 129 I has also been shown a very useful isotope for the age dating [4,5], a suitable oceanographic tracer for studying transport and exchange of water mass [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], as well as a useful environmental tracer for investigating geochemical cycle of stable iodine [16][17][18][19]. Knowledge on the speciation of 129 I is a key issue for safety assessment of radioactive waste repositories, for estimation of human exposure through multiple pathways, as well as its application as an environmental and oceanographic tracer.…”