Feasibility of using 236U to reconstruct close-in fallout deposition from the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
The first results on the feasibility of using (236)U to reconstruct the level and spatial distribution of close-in fallout deposition from the Hiroshima A-bomb are reported, coupled with the use of global fallout (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu. The results for global fallout (236)U in soil samples (0-30cm) from Ishikawa prefecture showed that the deposition density of (236)U from the global fallout can be accurately evaluated using AMS. All deposited (236)U, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu appeared to have been recovered using 30-cm cores. It was also noted from the depth profiles for (236)U/(239+240)Pu and (236)U/(137)Cs ratios that the downward behavior of (236)U in the soil was apparently similar to that of (239+240)Pu, while the (137)Cs was liable to be retained in upper layers compared with (236)U and (239+240)Pu. The accumulated levels were 1.78×10(13)atomsm(-2) for (236)U, 4340Bqm(-2) for (137)Cs and 141Bqm(-2) for (239+240)Pu. The ratios of (236)U/(137)Cs and (236)U/(239+240)Pu were (4.10±0.12)×10(9) and (1.26±0.04)×10(11)atomsBq(-1), respectively. Results of (236)U, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu measurements for the seven soil cores (0-30cm) from Hiroshima were discussed on the basis of ratios of (236)U/(137)Cs and (236)U/(239+240)Pu by comparing with those from the background area in Ishikawa, indicating that the global fallout dominates the current level of (236)U accumulation in soil in the Black-rain area around Hiroshima after the Hiroshima bomb, and the contribution of the close-in fallout (236)U produced by the Hiroshima A-bomb seems difficult to observe.
Sakaguchi
A
A
Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8526, Japan. ayaskgc@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Kawai
K
K
Steier
P
P
Imanaka
T
T
Hoshi
M
M
Endo
S
S
Zhumadilov
K
K
Yamamoto
M
M
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D007564:Japan; D054043:Nuclear Weapons; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*; D047789:World War II
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium; D011005:Plutonium