Abstract
<p>Alpha spectrometry is a highly sensitive and modern measurement technique which can be used to radiochemical and radiological studies of the natural environment. In the paper were presented the results on application of alpha spectrometry in the study for determination of natural (<sup>210</sup>Po, <sup>210</sup>Pb, <sup>234</sup>U, <sup>238</sup>U) and artificial (<sup>238</sup>Pu, <sup>239+240</sup>Pu and <sup>241</sup>Pu) alpha and beta radionuclides in environment of Poland and Baltic Sea. Amongst the radionuclides, alpha particle emitters play the most important role as they are highly radiotoxic to organisms. The concentrations of alpha radionuclides in the environmental samples of Poland are characterized based on the environmental materials collected between 1998 and 2009. Biogeochemistry of polonium, uranium and plutonium in the southern Baltic Sea ecosystem combined with the use of radioactive disequilibrium <sup>210</sup>Po/<sup>210</sup>Pb, <sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U and <sup>238</sup>Pu/<sup>239+240</sup>Pu and <sup>241</sup>Pu/<sup>239+240</sup>Pu allows you to identify the sources of these radionuclides in natural ecosystems. It also allows to determine their circulation in the environment (e. g. to assess the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear accident on the radioactive contamination of Poland).</p><p class="APodstawowy"> </p>
Highlights
Alpha spectrometry is one of the most important radiometric techniques used for the measuring of alpha particles emitted by natural and artificial radionuclides
Polonium 210Po is highly accumulated in the organisms of the southern Baltic Sea and the mean values of the bioconcentration factor (BCF) lie in the range: 1.5·103–3.2·104
In the fish of the southern Baltic Sea, higher polonium concentrations occur in visceras, and lower in the muscles
Summary
Alpha spectrometry is one of the most important radiometric techniques used for the measuring of alpha particles emitted by natural and artificial radionuclides. Detectors used are silicon diodes with a thin gold layer (so called Surface-Barrier detector) or, most often used, implanted and passivated (Planar Implanted Passivated Surface detector). The efficiency of such detectors is between 25% to 40% (in 2 geometry), but the resolution lies in the range of 20 keV up to 35 keV, depending on source quality. Considering a small penetration range of alpha particles the use of alpha spectrometry should precede a labor-intensive radiochemical separation of analyzed radionuclides
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