Long-range tropospheric transport of uranium and plutonium weapons fallout from Semipalatinsk nuclear test site to Norway

Wendel, Cato Christian; Fifield, L.K.; Oughton, Deborah; Lind, Ole Christian; Skipperud, Lindis; Bartnicki, Jerzy; Tims, S.G.; Høibråten, Steinar; Salbu, Brit

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.05.017

Cited by 34 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…According to Kersting et al (Kersting et al, 1999) (Mamuro et al, 1962;Mamuro et al, 1966). Similarly, tropospheric transport of fallout from detonations at STS to Norway have been observed from hot spots and Pu atom ratios in archived air filters and real time meteorological data (Wendel et al, 2013). Thus, long distance particle transport from STS to Europe during 1950-1960ies may have played a more important role than previously anticipated.…”

Section: Size Distributionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Challenges associated with the behaviour of radioactive particles in the environment

Salbu

Kashparov

Lind

et al. 2018

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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A series of different nuclear sources associated with the nuclear weapon and fuel cycles have contributed to the release of radioactive particles to the environment. Following nuclear weapon tests, safety tests, conventional destruction of weapons, reactor explosions and fires, a major fraction of released refractory radionuclides such as uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu) were present as entities ranging from sub microns to fragments. Furthermore, radioactive particles and colloids have been released from reprocessing facilities and civil reactors, from radioactive waste dumped at sea, and from NORM sites. Thus, whenever refractory radionuclides are released to the environment following nuclear events, radioactive particles should be expected. Results from many years of research have shown that particle characteristics such as elemental composition depend on the source, while characteristics such as particle size distribution, structure, and oxidation state influencing ecosystem transfer depend also on the release scenarios. When radioactive particles are deposited in the environment, weathering processes occur and associated radionuclides are subsequently mobilized, changing the apparent K. Thus, particles retained in soils or sediments are unevenly distributed, and dissolution of radionuclides from particles may be partial. For areas affected by particle contamination, the inventories can therefore be underestimated, and impact and risk assessments may suffer from unacceptable large uncertainties if radioactive particles are ignored. To integrate radioactive particles into environmental impact assessments, key challenges include the linking of particle characteristics to specific sources, to ecosystem transfer, and to uptake and retention in biological systems. To elucidate these issues, the EC-funded COMET and RATE projects and the IAEA Coordinated Research Program on particles have revisited selected contaminated sites and archive samples. This COMET position paper summarizes new knowledge on key sources that have contributed to particle releases, including particle characteristics based on advanced techniques, with emphasis on particle weathering processes as well as on heterogeneities in biological samples to evaluate potential uptake and retention of radioactive particles.

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Section: Size Distributionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Challenges associated with the behaviour of radioactive particles in the environment

Salbu

Kashparov

Lind

et al. 2018

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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“…σ is the Debye Waller factor of the considered scattering path. S0 2 is the global amplitude factor, e0 is the energy threshold, Rfactor is the agreement factor of the fit in % and Q is the quality factor (reduced CHI 2 EXAFS signal (k²)…”

Section: Associated Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uranium Uptake in Paracentrotus lividus Sea Urchin, Accumulation and Speciation

Reeves

Beccia

Solari

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Uranium speciation and bioaccumulation were investigated in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Through accumulation experiments in a well-controlled aquarium followed by ICP-OES analysis, the quantification of uranium in the different compartments of the sea urchin was performed. Uranium is mainly distributed in the test (skeletal components), as it is the major constituent of the sea urchin, but in terms of quantity of uranium per gram of compartment, the following rating: intestinal tract > gonads >> test, was obtained. Combining both extended X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and time resolved laser induced fluorescence (TRLFS) spectroscopic analysis, it was possible to identify two different forms of uranium in the sea urchin, one in the test, as a carbonato-calcium complex, and the second one in the gonads and intestinal tract, as a protein complex. Toposome is a major calcium-binding transferrin-like protein contained within the sea urchin. EXAFS data fitting of both contaminated organs in vivo and the uraniumtoposome complex from protein purified out of the gonads revealed that it is suspected to complex uranium

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“…The contamination of Pu isotopes could be local, regional (tropospheric) and global (stratospheric) depending on the power of the explosion, the explosion height and the meteorological conditions. Normally, most of the radioactive debris from high-yield explosions was injected into the lower or upper stratosphere, while that of the low-yield explosions stayed almost completely in the troposphere and deposited downwind from the nuclear test sites 1 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Pu isotopes in soils collected downwind from Lop Nor: regional fallout vs. global fallout

Guo

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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For the first time, soil core samples from the Jiuquan region have been analyzed for Pu isotopes for radioactive source identification and radiological assessment. The Jiuquan region is in downwind from the Lop Nor Chinese nuclear test (CNT) site. The high Pu inventories (13 to 546 Bq/m2) in most of the sampling locations revealed that this region was heterogeneously contaminated by the regional fallout Pu from the CNTs. The contributions of the CNTs to the total Pu in soils were estimated to be more than 40% in most cases. The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the soils ranged from 0.059 to 0.186 with an inventory-weighted average of 0.158, slightly lower than that of global fallout. This atom ratio could be considered as a mixed fingerprint of Pu from the CNTs. In addition, Pu in soils of Jiuquan region had a faster downward migration rate compared with other investigated places in China.

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Long-range tropospheric transport of uranium and plutonium weapons fallout from Semipalatinsk nuclear test site to Norway

Cited by 34 publications

References 30 publications

Challenges associated with the behaviour of radioactive particles in the environment

Challenges associated with the behaviour of radioactive particles in the environment

Uranium Uptake in Paracentrotus lividus Sea Urchin, Accumulation and Speciation

Pu isotopes in soils collected downwind from Lop Nor: regional fallout vs. global fallout

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