Session Keynote: Sixty Years of Environmental Radioactivity Research at Risø, Denmark and Future Guidelines

Abstract

PreviousNext No AccessInternational Conference on Engineering Geophysics, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 9-12 October 2017Session Keynote: Sixty Years of Environmental Radioactivity Research at Risø, Denmark and Future GuidelinesAuthors: Xiaolin HouXiaolin HouTechnical University of Denmark, Center for Nuclear Technologies, Risø Campus, Roskilde, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1190/iceg2017-089 SectionsAboutPDF/ePub ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Abstract Environmental radioactivity research was initiated in 1956 at Risø, a nuclear research center, located at Roskilde, Denmark, and continues until now. Risø was merged with the Technical University of Denmark in 2007, and the research on the environmental radioactivity is now carried out in the Center for Nuclear Technologies. Among research issues are the continuous monitoring of the radioactivity level of various anthropogenic and naturally occurring radionuclides in various environmental samples, such as aerosol, precipitation, grass, milk, river water and seawater. Figure 1 illustrates the long-term continuous monitoring of the anthropogenic radionuclides (137Cs and 90Sr) and naturally occurring radionuclides (7Be, 210Pb) in aerosol samples collected at Risø, Denmark. In the past years, numbers of advanced radioanalytical method for hard-to-measure radionuclides and their speciation have been developed, such as isotopes of actinides (238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 236U, 234U, 237Np, 241Am, 243Cm, 244Cm), 99Tc, 129I, 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb, 210Po, 3H, 14C, etc. in various environmental samples for the researches of environmental radioactivity. In addition, automated analytical system using sequential injection approach was developed for rapid separation of various hard-to-measure radionuclides in order to fast measurement of these radionuclides in the environment. Meanwhile, the environmental and biological behaviors and radioecology of various radionuclides have been investigated, such as the distribution of hot particles in the natural environment of an accident site, bioavailability of actinides in hot particles, exposure and transfer pathway of radioactive particles. Environmental trace studies of radionuclides in marine and terrestrial system have been other hot topics in the past year. By determination of the long-lived anthropogenic radionuclides such as 129I, 236U, 99Tc, 137Cs, 90Sr in seawater, the interaction of matter mass in the marine system has been studied. Figure 2 shows the temporal variation of average concentration of 137Cs in surface and bottom seawater in Danish strait (between Atlantic and Baltic Sea), demonstrating the water exchange between the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. Long-lived anthropogenic 129I has been used for investigation of atmospheric dispersion of volatile pollutions in the atmosphere. A brief review on radioanalytical methods developed in the past 10 years, and the research work on the environmental radioactivity, radioecology and environmental trace studies in the past 60 years at Risø, is presented. Especial focus is also given to the relevant researches related to the sources of man-made radionuclides that have been considered including; global fallout from nuclear weapons testing during the 1960's, local radioactive pollution from an accident in Greenland at Thule in 1968, and fallout from the nuclear accidents in Chernobyl in 1986 and in Fukushima in 2011. Meanwhile some future guidelines in the research of environmental radioactivity are highlighted. Keywords: enviornmental, radioactivityPermalink: https://doi.org/10.1190/iceg2017-089FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails International Conference on Engineering Geophysics, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 9-12 October 2017ISSN (online):2159-6832Copyright: 2017 Pages: 382 publication data© 2017 Published in electronic format with permission by Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)Publisher:Society of Exploration Geophysicists HistoryPublished: 12 Oct 2017 CITATION INFORMATION Xiaolin Hou, (2017), "Session Keynote: Sixty Years of Environmental Radioactivity Research at Risø, Denmark and Future Guidelines," SEG Global Meeting Abstracts : 494-495. https://doi.org/10.1190/iceg2017-089 Plain-Language Summary KeywordsenviornmentalradioactivityPDF DownloadLoading ...