• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.101-110
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• 2002

The concentrations and activity ratios of $^{137}Cs,\;^{90}Sr\;^{238}Pu$ and $^{239-240}Pu$ in sediment($0sim}20\;$cm) at 15 coastal stations of Korea were determined. The mean concentrations of $^{137}Cs,\;^{90}Sr\;^{238}Pu$ and $^{239-240}Pu$ are $2.24{\pm0.79\;Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry,\;0.20{\pm}0.04 Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry,\;0.009{\pm}0.005\;Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry}$ and $0.27{\pm}0.17\;Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry$, respectively. The mean activity ratios of $^{137}Cs,\;^{90}Sr$, $^{239-240}Pu/^{137}Cs$ and $^{238}Pu/^{229-240}Pu$ and atomic ratio of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ are $11.2{\pm}2.9,\;0.123{\pm}0.053$ and $0.033{\pm}0.017$ and $0.218{\pm}0.036$, respectively. The concentrations and activity ratios in sediment samples are similar to those reported from neighbouring country in the northern hemisphere. The correlation coefficient of $^{137}Cs$ and $^{239-240}Pu$ is 0.80. The correlation coefficient of $^{137}Cs$ and soil organic matter(SOM), and $^{239-240}Pu$ and clay content are 0.69 and 0.67, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 1999

$^{239+240}Pu$ concentrations in precipitation were determined for the period of May 1994 to August 1996 in oder to describe current $^{239+240}Pu$ deposition at the mid-western coat of Korea (Ansan, 37$^{\circ}$17'N, $126^{\circ}$50'E). $^{239+240}Pu$ concentration in daily precipitation varied from 0.05 to 131$\mu$Bq $kg^{-1}$ with a geometric mean of $1.26\mu$Bq $kg^{-1}$. The concentration was high in the period of Yellow Sand Storm in spring and low in wet summer monsoon. The specific $^{239+240}Pu$ concentration in daily precipitation appears to be controlled by the $^{239+240}Pu$ input to the atmosphere in spring and washout effects by precipitation in the wet summer monsoon. Wet depositional flux of $^{239+240}Pu$ varied from 4 to 123$\mu$Bq $m^{-2}d^{-1}$ with a geometric mean of $33.8\mu$Bq $m^{-2}d^{-1}$ and with a maximum in the period of Yellow Sand Storm and a minimum in the period of wet summer monsoon. $^{238}Pu$/$^{239+240}Pu$ activity raios(0.04~0.31) in precipitation for March-June period suggested that one of the major sources of Pu isotopes falling in Ansan area is the arid region of the Chinese continent.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.3-13
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• 2001

Dissolved /sup 137/Cs, /sup 239.240/Pu, /sup 238/Pu and /sup 90/Sr contents in winter and spring of the Yellow Sea were determined to describe the distribution of artificial radionuclides. Surface water samples (100 liter) were collected by using a submerged pump, and subsurface samples (>10m depth) were collected using a 10L Niskin water sampler mounted to the Rosette sampler. The levels in the surface water ranged between 1.78～3.38 mBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 137/Cs, 2.17～13.35 μBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 239,240/Pu, and 1.97～3.96 mBq kg/sup -1/ for /sup 90/Sr, respectively. In particular, the concentration of /sup 239.240/Pu were 1/10 of those in the vicinity of Changjiang estuary (61～83 μBq kg/sup -1/). The difference of /sup 238.240/Pu concentration between surface and bottom water was <3.0 μBq kg/sup -1/in the Yellow Sea. It suggests that in the Yellow Sea which has shallow and high suspended sediments, /sup 239.240/Pu is preferentially removed from the water columm. The water column inventory of /sup 239.240/Pu in the Yellow Sea constitute about 0.7～0.9 % of the estimated fallout input to the area. The activity ratios of /sup 239.240/Pu//sup 137/Cs and /sup 137/Cs//sup 90/Sr ranged between 0.001～0.005, 0.79～1.65, respectively, and similar to those of open ocean which global fallout is the only source of artificial radionuclides. Therefore, it suggests that most of these artificial radionuclides in the Yellow Sea may be controlled by the atmospheric input.

• 대한방사선방어학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.04a
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• pp.228-229
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• 2009

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.18-30
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• 2006

This paper describes the cumulative deposition of fallout Pu in soil and lichen at the present time and give the characteristics of fallout Pu deposits in the soil. In the soil of the forest, the accumulated depositions of $^{239,240}Pu$ were estimated to be in the range of 34.0 to $101.2Bq\;m^{-2}$ with an average value of $65.3{\pm}21.6Bq\;m^{-2}$. The average inventory of $^{239,240}Pu$ in the forest was calculated to be two times higher than that in the hill. Also, the deposited activities of $^{239,240}Pu$ in cultivated soil were significantly lower than those in the hill or forest. However, the cumulative depositions of fallout Pu in the volcanic ash soil on Cheju Island were much higher than those in the forest and hill soils. The measured activity concentrations of Pu isotopes in lichens and mosses showed large variations, due to characteristics of species and life span of lichen and moss colonies. From depth profiles, it was found that most of the fallout Pu has been accumulated in upper 10 cm layer of soil. Except for a few cases, the concentrations of $^{239,240}Pu$ in soil tended to decrease exponentially with increasing soil depth. Among parameters affecting the cumulative deposition of fallout Pu, organic substances and rainfall play an important role in the retention and relative mobility of fallout Pu in the soil. However, pH showed a weak correlation with the deposition of fallout Pu in the soil. From sequential leaching experiments, Pu was found to be associated predominantly with the "organic" and "oxy-hydroxy" fractions. Both the activity ratios of $^{238}Pu/^{239,240}Pu$ and $^{241}Pu/^{239,240}Pu$ in soils, lichens and mosses and the atomic ratios of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ in soils are close to those observed in the cumulative deposit global fallout from nuclear weapon testings. The results obtained from this research make it possible to interpret and predict the behavior of fallout Pu under natural conditions.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.514-519
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• 2004

Soil samples collected from around the BOMARC Missile Site were measured for their activity concentrations and isotopic ratios of Pu and Am isotopes with particle sizes. The activity concentrations of Pu and Am in the BOMARC soil were remarkably higher than the fallout levels, and the activities decreased nearly exponentially with an increasing particle size of the soil due to a decreasing surface area. The activity ratios of Pu-238 / Pu-239, 240, Pu-241 / Pu-239, 240 and Am-241 / Pu-239, 240 observed in the BOMARC soil were much lower than those attributed to the nuclear reprocess plants and the Chernobyl fallout. Also, the atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 in the BOMARC soil was remarkably lower than the fallout value influenced by the nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident. The atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 was so close to the value of the weapons grade Pu released from the crash of a B52 plane in the Thule of the Greenland, such that the Pu isotopes detected in the BOMARC soil could have originated from the weapons grade plutonium.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1995.05a
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• pp.893-898
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• 1995

The cumulative deposition of Pu-238 and Pu-239,240 by the end of 1994 in undisturbed for the last 40 years, was determined at 9 sites in Korea. The cumulative deposition of Pu-238 and Pu-239 ranged from 0.76 to 3.77 and from 18.42 to 101.84 $Bqm^{-2}$, respectively. The mean values of the cumulative deposition of Pu-238 and Pu-239,240 were 2.16 and 54.75 $Bqm^{-2}$, respectively. These values are close to the value of worldwide fallout. No significant contribution to the cumulative deposition of Pu-238 and Pu-239,240 originating from the Chernobyl accident was found at my site.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.117-123
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• 2010

Plutonium is by far the most important of the transuranic elements which have been released into the environment due to radio-toxicity and long term radiation effects on humans. And Pu isotope ratio ($^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$) is of great interest because this ratio is used as a fingerprint for different sources. Mass spectrometry has been used as an useful atom counting technique with several advantages over decay counting techniques for the determination of Pu isotopes. It enables a determination of Pu isotope ratio in the environmental samples with a low detection limit and a short determination time. An ICP-MS is the representative mass spectrometry for Pu determination. In this study, the precision of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ isotope ratio was improved by using 4 multiple ion counters of MC-ICP-MS. The detection limit of $^{239}Pu$ and $^{240}Pu$ were $0.10\;fg\;ml^{-1}$ ($0.24\;{\mu}Bq\;ml^{-1}$), $0.12\;fg\;ml^{-1}$ ($0.97\;{\mu}Bq\;ml^{-1}$), respectively. The relative standard deviation of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ isotope ratio was less than 1 % in trace level. The various reference materials (seawater, soil and sediment) were analyzed to verify this method and their analytical results were in good agreement with the certified (or recommended value) value.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

The objective of this study is to identify the radionuclide distribution in public water by carrying out the analysis of artificial radionuclides($^{134}Cs$, $^{137}Cs$, $^{239+240}Pu$), natural radionuclide($^{210}Pb$) and TOC in the lake Euiam sediment in Chuncheon, South Korea. The $^{134}Cs$ concentration in all lake sediments showed below MDA values, and the $^{137}Cs$ concentration in lake sediment were ranged from MDA to $8.79Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry$. The $^{137}Cs$ concentrations in surface sediment were reported to be 2.4 to $4.2Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry$. The lowest concentration of $^{137}Cs$ was reported at St. 4 and the highest concentration was reported at St. 3, respectively. The $^{239+240}Pu$ concentration in lake sediment were ranged from 0.049 to $0.47Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}-dry$. The lowest concentration was reported at St. 2 and the highest concentration was reported at St. 3. The correlation(r) between the $^{239+240}Pu$ concentration and $^{137}Cs$ concentration in lake sediment presented higher values (0.54 to 0.97) and this suggests the behavior and origin of $^{137}Cs$ is identical to the $^{239+240}Pu$ in the sediment. The $^{134}Cs$ concentration below MDA value and the $^{239+240}Pu/^{137}Cs$ ratio(mean value of 0.041) indicated that the artificial radionuclides in the sediment were originated from global fallout by the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons conducted by former USSR and U.S.A, but not from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. The sedimentation rate derived from $^{210}Pb$ age-dating method at St. 2 is calculated to be $0.31{\pm}0.06cm{\cdot}y^{-1}$. This value is similar to the value ($0.41{\pm}0.05cm{\cdot}y^{-1}$) estimated from the $^{137}Cs$ maximum peak produced from early 1960's. The content of TOC in lake Euiam sediments varied from 0.20 to 13.01%. While the highest correlation between TOC and $^{137}Cs$ concentration in the sediment were found at St. 1, the others presented the low correlation.

• 대한방사선방어학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.256-257
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• 2011