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Consideration of impact of atmospheric intrusion in subsurface sampling for investigation of suspected underground nuclear explosions

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Abstract

Radioactive noble gases radioxenon and radioargon constitute the primary smoking gun of an underground nuclear explosion. The aim of subsurface sampling of soil gas as part of an on-site inspection (OSI) is to search for evidence of a suspected underground nuclear event. It has been hypothesized that atmospheric gas can disturb soil gas concentrations and therefore potentially add to problems in civilian source discrimination verifying treaty compliance under the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. This work describes a study of intrusion of atmospheric air into the subsurface and its potential impact on an OSI using results of simulations from the underground transport of environmental xenon (UTEX) model.

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Notes

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), (Draxler and Rolph 2003).

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was provided by the United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, under Award Number DE-AC52-09NA28608 and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency under Award Number HDTRA1-12-1-0018.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, PO Box 999, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Justin D. Lowrey, Theodore W. Bowyer, Derek A. Haas & James C. Hayes

  2. Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, 10100 Burnet Rd Bldg 159, Austin, TX, 78758, USA

    Steven R. Biegalski

Authors
  1. Justin D. Lowrey
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  2. Steven R. Biegalski
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  3. Theodore W. Bowyer
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  4. Derek A. Haas
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  5. James C. Hayes
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Correspondence to Justin D. Lowrey.

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Lowrey, J.D., Biegalski, S.R., Bowyer, T.W. et al. Consideration of impact of atmospheric intrusion in subsurface sampling for investigation of suspected underground nuclear explosions. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 2439–2444 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4462-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4462-1

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