Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Determination of plutonium-239/240 in fish in low-level radioactive Ocean waste Dump Sites

  • Determination of Actinide Elements in Environmental Materials
  • Published:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There was concern that radioactivity might find its way into the food chain, namely fish, via low-level radioactive waste Ocean Dump Sites. This led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with other Federal Agencies, to the monitoring and determination of radioactivity in fish samples from these Ocean Dump Sites. The radionuclide thought to be of major concern was plutonium-239/240. These sites were monitored at various periods from 1980. The sites were located off the coasts of New Jersey, California (near San Francisco) and Massachusetts Bay. The fish samples selected were shellfish that inhabited the ocean floor and bottom-feeders.

The levels of activities required sophisticated measuring techniques since for plutonium-239/240, they were below the range. After a radiochemical procedure is used to separate the plutonium, it was measured using solid-state silicon detectors. These are coupled to a computer based multi-channel analyzer system. A plutonium-236 tracer is used to measure the recovery. The levels were found to be at background or in the 10 mBq range.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. W. R. Schell, S. Sugai, Health Physics, Vol. 39, 475–496 (1980) “Radionuclides at the U.S. Radioactive Waste Disposal Site Near the Farallon Islands”

  2. P.B. Hahn, E.W. Bretthauer, P.B. Altriger and N.F. Mathews, EPA-600/7-77-078 (July, 1977) “Fusion Method for the Measurement of Plutonium in Soil: Single-Laboratory Evaluation of Interlaboratory Collaborative Test”

  3. E.M. Lumsden, E.J. Baratta, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1977) Laboratory Information Bulletin No. 2015, “Isotopic Analysis of Pu in Food Ash”

  4. D.E. Rushing, W.J. Garcia and D.A. Clark, Radiological Health and Safety in Mining and Milling of Nuclear Materials IAEA Publication, Proceedings Series STI/PUB/78 (1964) “The Analysis of Effluents and Environmental Samples from Uranium Milk and of Biological Samples for Radium, Polonium and Uranium”.

  5. R.L. Heath, IDO-16880-1 (1964) AEC Research Development Report

  6. F. Novielli, C.K. Liu (1990) Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory Intercomparison Studies Program, EMSL, EPA, Las Vegas, NV

  7. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 190 (1992) Protection of the Environment

  8. Annals of the ICRP Report No. 30 (1979), “Limits for Intake of Radionuclides by Workers”

  9. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, Federal Radiation Council (1961) Background Material for the Development of Radiation Protection Standards Report No. 2

  10. Annals of the ICRP Report No. 61 (1991) “Annual Limits on Intake of Radionuclides by Workers Based on the 1990 Recommendations”

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Food and Drug Administration, 01890, Winchester, MA, USA

    E. J. Baratta

Authors
  1. E. J. Baratta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Baratta, E.J. Determination of plutonium-239/240 in fish in low-level radioactive Ocean waste Dump Sites. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 194, 157–162 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02037622

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02037622

Keywords

Search

Navigation