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Anthropogenic plutonium in the North Jiangsu tidal flats of the Yellow Sea in China

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Abstract

The 239+240Pu activities and 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios were analyzed using a double-focusing SF-ICP-MS for sediment core samples obtained in 2007–2008 from the North Jiangsu tidal flats in the Yellow Sea in China. Particular attention was focused on the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the sediment to identify the origins of Pu isotopes. The profiles of 239+240Pu activities in the sediment cores are similar to those of the 137Cs activities. The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the tidal flats showed typical global fallout values, indicating that this area did not receive the possible early direct close-in fallout or oceanic current transported Pu from the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG). If any, the contribution of the PPG source Pu to the total Pu inventory is negligible. This is different from the sediments in the Yangtze River estuary in the East China Sea, where the PPG source Pu contributed ca. 45 % to the total inventory. In addition, the observation of the global fallout origin Pu in the North Jiangsu tidal flats indicated that the nuclear power plant in the region was not causing any alteration/contamination to the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios. The 239+240Pu and 137Cs activities/inventories in the sediment cores showed correlation to the mean clay sediment compositions (fine particles) in the tidal flats. Therefore, mud deposits are served as sinks for the anthropogenic radionuclides in the tidal flats and the Yellow Sea. Integrated with the previously reported spatial distributions of 239+240Pu and 137Cs activities in the surface sediments of the Yellow Sea, the mechanism of Pu transport with the ocean currents and the scavenging characteristics in the Yellow Sea were discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Fenglong Bai, Xuying Liu, Andong Wang, Rensong Pang, and Yanfeng Ding for the help with sediment sampling and analysis. This work was jointly supported by the MEXT, Japan (24110004), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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  1. Zhiyong Liu

    Present address: School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Medicine College, Soochow University, 199 Renai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Lab of Ministry of Education of Coast and Island Development, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Zhiyong Liu, Shaoming Pan & Jianhua Gao

  2. Research Center of Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 491 Anagawa, Inage, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan

    Zhiyong Liu & Jian Zheng

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  1. Zhiyong Liu
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  2. Jian Zheng
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  4. Jianhua Gao
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Correspondence to Jian Zheng or Shaoming Pan.

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Liu, Z., Zheng, J., Pan, S. et al. Anthropogenic plutonium in the North Jiangsu tidal flats of the Yellow Sea in China. Environ Monit Assess 185, 6539–6551 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-3045-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-3045-7

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