Analysis of radioiodine in ground litter samples downwind of the Savannah River Site

• Published in: Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry Vol. 282; no. 3; pp. 825 - 829
• Main Authors: Engelmann, M. D., Ballou, N. E., Kiddy, R. A., Jenson, D. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-12-2009
• Subjects: Approximation; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Diagnostic Radiology; Grounds; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Inorganic Chemistry; Litter; Mathematical analysis; Nuclear Chemistry; Nuclear fuel reprocessing; Nuclear Physics; Physical Chemistry; Rivers; United Nations; Savannah River Site; Radioiodine; Hanford; Dispersion
• ISSN: 0236-5731; 1588-2780
• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-009-0305-2

Ground litter samples were collected and analyzed for radioiodine (
129
I) content from distances of 1.4–128 km away from the Savannah River Site nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Analysis methods consisted of thermo-chromatographic separation of the iodine from the sample matrix followed by isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). The results indicate that measurable quantities of radioiodine are released and that the accumulation decreases as a function of distance from the source in agreement with a simple approximation described in the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report.