• Title/Summary/Keyword: Fallout

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A study of characteristics of cumulative deposition of fallout Pu in environmental samples

  • Lee, Myung Ho;Song, Byoung Chul;Jee, Kwang Yong;Park, Yeong Jae;Kim, Won Ho
    • 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.

An Experimental Study on the Prediction of Progressive Cracking around Tunnel Fallout (터널 변상부 주변 진행성 예측에 관한 실험적 연구)

  • Lee, Jun-S.;SaGong, Myung;Ahn, Sung-Kwon;Yoo, Sang-Geon;Song, Suk-Jun
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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    • v.12 no.5
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    • pp.811-818
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    • 2009
  • An estimation method of the fallout volume of a tunnel under construction is proposed based on an empirical method called bulking factor. For this, the main causes of the tunnel fallout are investigated and the scale of the fallout which is not accessible is considered. The calculated height of the fallout area is compared with borehole core data and the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated. Another experimental approach on the detection of a progressive cracking around the tunnel fallout is provided based on an acoustic emission method. From the field tests near the tunnel fallout, it is shown that additional progressive cracking of the reinforced area is not foreseen and the effectiveness of the reinforcement is proven.

Seasonal Variation of $^7Be$ and $^{137}Cs$ Concentrations in Airborne Dust, Dry Fallout and Precipitation in Daejeon (대전지역 대기부유진, 낙진 및 강수 중 $^7Be$$^{137}Cs$ 방사능 농도의 계절별 변화)

  • Kim, Chang-Kyu;Lee, Seung-Chan;Lee, Dong-Myung;Rho, Byung-Hwan
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.11-19
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    • 2002
  • The seasonal variation of $^7Be$ and $^{137}Cs$ concentrations in airborne dust, precipitation and dry fallout collected at Daejeon during the period of 1998 - 1999 has been studied. The annual mean values of 7Be concentrations in airborne dust, precipitation and dry fallout were in the range of $3.80{\sim}4.29\;mBq\;m^{-3},\;1.25{\sim}1.67\;Bq\;l^{-1},\;19.7{\sim}22.3 MBq\;km^{-2}$, respectively. The annual mean values of $^{137}Cs$ concentrations in airborne dust, precipitation and dry fallout ranged $1.08{\sim}1.28{\mu}Bq\;m^{-3},\;0.44{\sim}2.66 mBq\;l^{-1}\;\;0.036{\sim}0.0455\;MBq\;km^{-2}$, respectively. While the concentrations of $^7Be$ and $^{137}Cs$ in airborne dust and dry fallout were relatively higher in the spring and autumn when the amount of dry fallout increased than in other season, their concentrations in precipitation were relatively lower in the summer when the rainfall increased. The total depositions of $^7Be$ and $^{137}Cs$ due to dry fallout and precipitation were in the range of $80.7{\sim}137MBq\;km^{-2}$ and $0.059{\sim}0.060MBq\;km^{-2}$, respectively. More than 80% of $^7Be$ deposition resulted from precipitation, whereas about 60% of $^{137}Cs$ deposition was due to dry fallout.

Proposals to Reduce Nuclear Fallout Intake in Food Preparation (방사성낙진(放射性落塵)의 피해감소(被害減少)를 위한 식품조리상(食品調理上)의 문제점(問題點)에 관(關)한 고찰(考察))

  • Lee, Myo-Sook
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.21-26
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    • 1978
  • The hazards to man of nuclear fallout produced by the nuclear tests in the atmosphere were briefly discussed. Seriousness of hazards due to Sr-90 existing not only in the nuclear fallout but also in the spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste was pointed out. The uncertainty in health hazards to Koreans coming from the relatively low fraction of Ca intake from dairy products was stressed. In order to minimize the possible additional damage due to the particular Korean meal pattern, the investigation of ways to reduce the Sr-90 intake from Korean foods was proposed.

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Forty Years of Anthropogenic Radionuclides in Surface Seawater. Italian and Japanese Data

  • Cigna, Arrigo A.
    • Ocean Science Journal
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.261-290
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    • 2006
  • The concentrations of man made radionuclides in surface seawater since early '60s are here reported as measured in Italy and Japan. Most of the data refers to $^{90}Sr$ and $^{137}Cs$, but occasionally the concentrations of $^{89}Sr$ and $^{134}Cs$ in some Italian samples are also given. The main sources of man made radionuclides were the global fallout produced by the nuclear weapon tests and the Chernobyl accident. The respective contributions to the contamination of surface seawater around both countries are discussed.

Distribution and Characteristics of Heavy Metals in the Fallout Dust Deposits at the Middle and High Schools of Some Cities in South Korea (우리나라 일부도시의 중 . 고등학교에서 강하분진으로 형성된 축적분진에 함유된 중금속의 분포와 특성에 대한 연구)

  • 이진헌;민병연
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.29 no.3
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    • pp.21-27
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    • 2003
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution and characteristics of heavy metals in the fallout dust deposits at the middle and high schools. We collected the samples at 60 schools in Kongju, Incheon and Daejeon on from September to November, 2001, and analyzed Cadmium(Cd), Copper(Cu), Lead(Pb) and Zinc(Zn) from them. Zn was the highest level as 551 $\pm$ 79.9 ppm, and the next order were Pb, Cu, and Cd as 146.0 $\pm$ 15.2 ppm, 98.7 $\pm$ 14.4 ppm and 5.21 $\pm$ 0.76 ppm, respectively. The rates of schools exceeding the soil environmental standards were 56.3% in Cd, 53.3% in Zn, 51.5% in Pb, and 31.7% in Cu, respectively. Cd and Pb were the highest levels at schools in Daejeon as 6.30 $\pm$ 0.87 ppm and 171 $\pm$ 26.1 ppm, respectively. Cu and Zn were the highest levels at schools in Incheon as 176.2 $\pm$ 55.8 ppm and 919.8 $\pm$ 185.7 ppm, respectively. At Incheon, Cu and Zn levels were significantly higher than Kongju(p=0.04l), and Daejeon(p=0.016), respectively. Total pollution index(PI) of heavy metals was 1.51 $\pm$ 0.16. PI was 2.00 $\pm$ 0.51 on Incheon, 1.50 $\pm$ 0.13 on Daejeon, and 0.92 $\pm$ 0.24 on Kongju. Correlations were 0.675 (p<0.05) between Cu and Cd, 0.663(p<0.05) between Cu and Zn, and 0.477 between Cd and Pb. In conclusion, Among heavy metals in the fallout dust deposits at schools, Cu and Zn were the highest levels at Incheon, Cd and Pb were the highest levels at Daejeon.

Volcanological Interpretation of Historic Record of 1702 Fallout-ash from the Mt. Baegdusan (백두산 화산의 1702년 강하화산재 기록에 대한 화산학적 해석)

  • Yun, Sung-Hyo;Lee, Jeong-Hyun
    • The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.243-250
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    • 2011
  • This study considers the historical eruption record in 1702 from the volcanological point of view, which is presumed to have occurred from Mt. Baegdusan volcano. The minium volume of erupted materials is estimated to be $1.2km^3$ when calculated with an empirical formula using an isopach line obtained from two points 140 km away from the vent. The 1702 eruption was a paroxysmal one with VEI of 5. The historical record described a deposition of wind-modified fallout ash by movement of hot ash cloud. To prepare for the future eruption, we have to analyze historical literatures and understand characteristics of volcano.

Transport Parameters of 99Tc, 137Cs, 90Sr, and 239+240Pu for Soils in Korea

  • Keum, D.K.;Kim, B.H.;Jun, I.;Lim, K.M.;Choi, Y.H.
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.49-55
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    • 2013
  • To characterize quantitatively the transport of $^{99}Tc$ and the global fallout ($^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, and $^{239+240}Pu$) for soils in Korea, the transport parameters of a convective-dispersion model, apparent migration velocity, and apparent dispersion coefficient were estimated from the vertical depth profiles of the radionuclides in soils. The vertical profiles of $^{99}Tc$ were measured from a pot experiment for paddy soil that had been sampled from a rice-field around the Gyeongju radioactive waste repository in Korea, and the vertical depth distributions of the global fallout $^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, and $^{239+240}Pu$ were measured from the soil samples that were taken from local areas in Korea. The front edge of the $^{99}Tc$ profiles reached a depth of about 12 cm in 138 days, indicating a faster movement than the fallout radionuclides. A weak adsorption of $^{99}Tc$ on the soil particles by the formation of Tc(VII) and a high water infiltration velocity seemed to have controlled the migration of $^{99}Tc$. The apparent migration velocity and dispersion coefficient of $^{99}Tc$ for the disturbed paddy soil were 2.88 cm/y and 6.3 $cm^2/y$, respectively. The majority of the global fallout $^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$, and $^{239+240}Pu$ were found in the top 20 cm of the soils even after a transport of about 30 years. The transport parameters for the global fallout radionuclides were 0.01-0.1cm/y ($^{137}Cs$), 0.09-0.13cm/y ($^{90}Sr$), and 0.09-0.18cm/y ($^{239+240}Pu$) for the apparent migration velocity: 0.21-1.09 $cm^2/y$ ($^{137}Cs$), 0.12-0.7$cm^2/y$ ($^{90}Sr$), and 0.09-0.36$cm^2/y$ ($^{239+240}Pu$) for the apparent dispersion coefficient.

A Study on Determination of Fallout Pu in the Environment

  • Lee, Myung-Ho;Park, Young-Hyun;Do Won park;Park, Gun-Sik;Kim, Sang-Bog;Lee, Chang-Woo
    • Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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    • 1998.05b
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    • pp.627-632
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    • 1998
  • Using an ammonium oxalate-ammonium sulfate electrolyte, a simple, quantitative, and fast technique for preparing sources for analytical alpha spectrometry was developed. To determine the optimum conditions for plating plutonium, parameters such as current density .and pH of electrolyte affacting the electrodeposition of the plutonium have been investigated. An optimized electrodeposition step for the determination of plutonium has been validated with a result of application to IAEA-Reference Soils. The new method of fallout Pu determination has been applied to environmental samples such as soil, sediment and moss samples in Korea.

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