• 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.

• 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.

• 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.