The Dynamic Movement of Plutonium in an Underground Nuclear Test with Implications for the Contamination of Groundwater [electronic resource].
- Published
- Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2003.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy. - Physical Description
- PDF-FILE: 19 ; SIZE: 0.7 MBYTES pages
- Additional Creators
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online
- Restrictions on Access
- Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
- Summary
- The recent discovery of the migration of plutonium in groundwater away from underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site has spawned considerable interest in the mechanisms by which plutonium may be released to the environment by a nuclear test. A suite of solid debris samples was collected during drilling through an expended test cavity and the overlying collapse chimney. Uranium and plutonium were analyzed for isotope ratios and concentration using high precision magnetic sector inductively coupled mass spectrometry. The data unequivocally shows that plutonium may be dispersed throughout the cavity and chimney environment at the time of the detonation. The ²³⁹Pu/²⁴°Pu ratios are also fractionated relative to initial plutonium isotope ratio for the test device. Fractionation is the result of the volatilization of uranium and production of ²³⁹Pu by the reaction ²³⁸U (n,γ). We conclude that for the test under consideration plutonium was deposited outside of the confines of the cavity by dynamic processes in early-time and it is this plutonium that is most likely first transferred to the groundwater regime.
- Report Numbers
- E 1.99:ucrl-jc-150810
ucrl-jc-150810 - Subject(s)
- Other Subject(s)
- Note
- Published through SciTech Connect.
03/25/2003.
"ucrl-jc-150810"
Sixth International Conference on Methods and Applications of Radioanalytical Chemistry, Kona, HI (US), 04/07/2003--04/11/2003.
Williams, R W; Smith, D K. - Funding Information
- W-7405-ENG-48
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