Pu isotopes in the seawater off Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant site within two months after the severe nuclear accident

Men, Wu; Zheng, Jian; Wang, Hai; Ni, Youyi; Kumamoto, Yuichiro; Yamada, Masatoshi; Uchida, Shunsuke

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.12.007

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…If a nuclear accident happens in the operational nuclear power plants in the coastal zones, it would affect the entire surrounding coastal area and spread to other seas with the currents. 36,39,40 If a nuclear accident happened in the inner river basins, it might cause Pu pollution of the whole river system and river sediments throughout the catchments and affect the whole downstream and coastal zones. As a result, the 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios surrounding ca.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Source Identification of Pu in River Basins in Southern China

Wang

Ling

et al. 2019

ACS Omega

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The 239+240Pu activities and 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in surface sediments from the major river basins in southern China were analyzed to investigate the distribution and source of Pu. We clarified that the 239+240Pu activities in these river basins were very similar, however, only the 239+240Pu activities in the Jinjiang Basin were generally higher than other samples. Because of river transport function, the distribution of 239+240Pu activities in these river basins presented an increasing trend from the upstream region to the estuary. According to the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios, the Pu source in the inner river basins might be from global fallout, and the Pu in river estuaries might be from the global fallout and the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) in the Marshall Islands. Using a mass balance of the Pu model, we quantified in the Pearl River Estuary and the Pu contribution from the Pearl River Basin to Pu inventory was 13 ± 5%. These data not only filled in a knowledge gap of Pu in these river basins but also served as background data for Pu contamination from a nuclear reactor. Also, there are several planned and operating nuclear power plants in these river basins and these data could provide some indications for dealing with nuclear accidents in different parts of river basins in the future. In this study, we also analyzed some factors that would affect the distribution of 239+240Pu activities; however, only total organic carbon (TOC) content and the heavy metal As had a positive correlation with the 239+240Pu activity.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Source Identification of Pu in River Basins in Southern China

Wang

Ling

et al. 2019

ACS Omega

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“…In contrast, the 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atomic ratios off the Kuroshio zone varied from 0.199 to 0.244, averaging 0.222±0.019 (n=8), values which were lower than those in the mainstream zone of Kuroshio 12 . It is noteworthy that higher 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios were observed in the converging zone between the Kuroshio and the Oyashio, ranging from 0.233 to 0.279 (average=0.257±0.015, n=11) 29,32 .…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Outside the Kuroshio zone, they ranged from 1.18 to 2.16 (average=1.62±0.30 mBq m -3 ), and were comparable to those of the Kuroshio mainstream 12 . In the Oyashio and the Kuroshio converging zone, 239+240 Pu activities ranged from 1.46 to 43.50 mBq m -3 (average=8.52±12.11 mBq m -3 , n=11) 29,32 , and were thus higher than those of the Kuroshio mainstream. In turn, in the subarctic zone, (n=6) 29 .…”

Section: +240 Pu Activitymentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Even in the subarctic zone far away from the PPG, high 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios (0.247±0.007, n=7) were observed in 1988 29,33 . the period 1988-2014 4,12,29,[32][33]66 ; this is potentially related to the continuous Pu-PPG supply via the NEC-Kuroshio. Correspondingly, high 239+240 Pu activities and inventories were also observed in this region.…”

Section: Pu Transport Pathway In the Pacific Ocean And Implication For Ocean Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lateral distribution of the Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratio (a) and 239+240 Pu activity (mBq m -3 ) (b) in the Pacific Ocean. The Pu atom ratios and activities are derived from previous publications4,12,14,[29][30][31][32][33]41 . This figure was prepared with the free software Ocean Data View (ODV 5.1.2) (Schlitzer, R., Ocean Data View, https://odv.awi.de, 2018)…”

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confidence: 99%

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Distribution of plutonium in the Pacific Ocean and implications for tracing of ocean circulation

Wang

Chen

Cui

et al. 2021

Preprint

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This study examined plutonium (Pu) sources and distribution in the Pacific Ocean based on extensive field datasets over the past 50 years. The basin wide 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in surface and deep seawater ranged from 0.192 to 0.279 averaging 0.235 ± 0.019, a value consistently higher than that of global fallout at ~ 0.180. The distribution of 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios exhibited a decreasing trend along the North Equatorial Current-Kuroshio to their extension areas. The activity levels of 239+240Pu in Pacific Ocean surface seawater ranged widely from 0.2 to 43.5 mBq m− 3, and increased with latitude. We determined the Pu sourced from the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) and global nuclear fallout in the Pacific Ocean based on the Pu isotopic composition. Using a mixing model, we found that the PPG made the dominant Pu contribution (average = 69.6 ± 14.4%) to Pacific Ocean surface seawater. The depth range of maximal 239+240Pu activity in the Pacific Ocean was well defined, averaging 608 ± 137 m. The vertical distribution of the 239+240Pu inventory showed most of Pu retained in the upper 3000 m, namely, the contributions of 239+240Pu inventories at 0-1000 m and 0-3000 m depths accounted for 43.5 ± 9.0% and 75.1 ± 12.0% of the total, respectively. We identified the transport pathway of Pu-PPG in the Pacific Ocean and demonstrated that Pu isotopes hold great promise as tracers of ocean circulation. Finally, via this extensive compilation of Pu isotopic compositions in the Pacific Ocean water, we established a Pu baseline in the region.

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Reference materials for quality assurance of environmental plutonium analysis

Wang

Zheng

2020

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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Pu isotopes in the seawater off Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant site within two months after the severe nuclear accident

Cited by 18 publications

References 46 publications

Distribution and Source Identification of Pu in River Basins in Southern China

Distribution and Source Identification of Pu in River Basins in Southern China

Distribution of plutonium in the Pacific Ocean and implications for tracing of ocean circulation

Reference materials for quality assurance of environmental plutonium analysis

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