Characterization of uranium and plutonium containing particles originating from the nuclear weapons accident in Thule, Greenland, 1968.
To improve long-term radioecological impact assessment for the contaminated ecosystem of Bylot Sound, Greenland, U and Pu containing particles have been characterized with respect to particle size, elemental distribution, morphology and oxidation states. Based on scanning electron microscopy with XRMA, particles ranging from about 20 to 40 microm were isolated. XRMA and mu-XRF mapping demonstrated that U and Pu were homogeneously distributed throughout the particles, indicating that U and Pu have been fused. Furthermore, mu-XANES showed that U and Pu in the particles were present as mixed oxides. U was found to be in oxidation state IV whereas Pu apparently is a mixture of Pu(III) and Pu(IV). As previous assessments are based on PuO2 only, revisions should be made, taking Pu(III) into account.
Lind
O C
OC
Isotope Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian 10 University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, N-1432 As, Norway. ole-christian.lind@umb.no
Salbu
B
B
Janssens
K
K
Proost
K
K
Dahlgaard
H
H
D000060:Accidents, Aviation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001345:Autoradiography; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D019471:Elementary Particle Interactions; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D006116:Greenland; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010316:Particle Size; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D017356:Synchrotrons; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*
D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium; D011005:Plutonium