Abstract
Isotopic analyses of elements in the natural reactor materials have often been performed to understand the distribution behaviors of the fission products and to evaluate the function of nuclear reactions since the first discovery of a natural reactor in 1972. Several types of unique microminerals, including significant amounts of fission products, have been found in and around the Oklo and the Bangombé natural reactors. In the past two decades, microbeam techniques using ion and laser probe facilities have been effectively applied for the in situ isotopic analyses of individual microminerals to investigate the migration behaviors of fissiogenic radioisotopes produced in the reactors. This paper presents a review of interpretations of the isotopic results of microminerals found in and around the natural reactors.
Highlights
The isotopic compositions of various elements in and around the Oklo and Bangombé natural reactors vary significantly because of the incorporation of fission products and the influence of nuclear reactions in the reactors
Individual elements were chemically separated for the isotopic analyses by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and/or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
I would like to review the isotopic results related to the Oklo and Bangombé reactors mainly based on my works using a sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) in the past two decades
Summary
The isotopic compositions of various elements in and around the Oklo and Bangombé natural reactors vary significantly because of the incorporation of fission products and the influence of nuclear reactions in the reactors. Isotopic analyses of the elements in the reactor materials provide useful information to understand the distribution behaviors of the fission products and to evaluate the function of nuclear reactions. Individual elements were chemically separated for the isotopic analyses by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and/or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) In these conventional analyses, the results reveal the average information from the whole of the sample. I would like to review the isotopic results related to the Oklo and Bangombé reactors mainly based on my works using a sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) in the past two decades. Variations in isotopic compositions resulting from the nuclear reactions can be used as tracers to understand the geochemical behavior of fission products in and around the reactors.
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