Plutonium characteristics in sediments of Hiroshima Bay in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan

Abstract

Sediment core samples were collected from Hiroshima Bay in the Seto Inland Sea, western Northwest Pacific Ocean, and their 239+240Pu activities and 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios were determined by sector field ICP-MS. The activities of 239+240Pu ranged from 0.556 ± 0.025 to 0.745 ± 0.023 mBq/g. The atom ratios of 240Pu/239Pu were almost constant within the whole depth; the average value was 0.227 ± 0.014. This atom ratio was significantly higher than the mean global fallout ratio of 0.18, proving the presence of close-in fallout Pu that originated from the Pacific Proving Ground (PPG). The water masses exchanges between the Kuroshio Current and the Seto Inland Sea brought the PPG source Pu to this area, then Pu was extensively scavenged into sediment particles supplied by the rivers around the bay. The relative contributions of the global fallout Pu and the PPG close-in fallout Pu were evaluated by the two end-member mixing model. The contribution of the PPG close-in fallout was 38–41% of the total Pu in sediment. The remaining 59–62% was attributed to direct global fallout and the land-origin Pu transported by the rivers around the Hiroshima Bay.