Isotopic signatures by bulk analyses

Abstract

Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed a series of measurement techniques for identification of nuclear signatures by analyzing bulk samples. Two specific applications for isotopic fingerprinting to identify the origin of anthropogenic radioactivity in bulk samples are presented. The first example is the analyses of environmental samples collected in the US Arctic to determine the impact of dumping of radionuclides in this polar region. Analyses of sediment and biota samples indicate that for the areas sampled the anthropogenic radionuclide content of sediments was predominantly the result of the deposition of global fallout. The anthropogenic radionuclide concentrations in fish, birds and mammals were very low. It can be surmised that marine food chains are presently not significantly affected. The second example is isotopic fingerprinting of water and sediment samples from the Rocky Flats Facility (RFP). The largest source of anthropogenic radioactivity presently affecting surface-waters at RFP is the sediments that are currently residing in the holding ponds. One gram of sediment from a holding pond contains approximately 50 times more plutonium than 1 liter of water from the pond. Essentially 100% of the uranium in Ponds A-1 and A-2 originated as depleted uranium. The largest source of radioactivity in the terminal Ponds A-4, B-5 and C-2 was naturally occurring uranium and its decay product radium. The uranium concentrations in the waters collected from the terminal ponds contained 0.05% or less of the interim standard calculated derived concentration guide for uranium in waters available to the public. All of the radioactivity observed in soil, sediment and water samples collected at RFP was naturally occurring, the result of processes at RFP or the result of global fallout. No extraneous anthropogenic alpha, beta or gamma activities were detected. The plutonium concentrations in Pond C-2 appear to vary seasonally.