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Measurement of baseline atmospheric plutonium-239, 240 and americium-241 in the vicinity of the waste isolation pilot plant

  • Actinides in Biological and Environmental Systems
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Abstract

Measurements of aerosol239, 240Pu and241Am activity concentrations have been made in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Samples for total suspended particulate matter (TSP) and particulate matter less than or equal to 10±2 μm aerodynamic diameter (PM10) collected on 20×25-cm2 glass fiber filters at a site approximately 1 km from the WIPP exhaust shaft. Samples for both TSP and PM10 were collected concurrently at 5 m above ground level. Other concurrent PM10 samples were also collected at 2 m above ground level. At the 5-m level, approximately 50% of the mass and the239,240Pu and241Am activities in the TSP are contained in the PM10 fraction. Comparison of the PM10 data from 2-and 5-m levels indicates that239,240Pu activity concentrations at the 2-m elevation are approximately 50% higher than the activity concentrations at the 5-m elevation. The overall average of the activity ratio between241Am and239,240Pu is 0.40±0.02 which is in good agreement with other published values.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center, New Mexico State University, 1400 University Drive, 88220-3575, Carlsbad, NM, USA

    S. C. Lee, J. Webb, D. Schoep, T. Kirchner & D. J. Fingleton

  2. Environmental Research Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 60439, Argonne, IL, USA

    K. A. Orlandini

Authors
  1. S. C. Lee
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  2. K. A. Orlandini
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  3. J. Webb
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  4. D. Schoep
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  5. T. Kirchner
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  6. D. J. Fingleton
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Lee, S.C., Orlandini, K.A., Webb, J. et al. Measurement of baseline atmospheric plutonium-239, 240 and americium-241 in the vicinity of the waste isolation pilot plant. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 234, 267–272 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02389783

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02389783

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