Origin and age of an ongoing radioactive contamination of soils near La hague reprocessing plant based on 239+240Pu/238Pu and 241Am/241Pu current ratios and 90Sr and Ln(III) soil contents.
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- doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129332
- issn: 0045-6535
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P.A. Pittet et al., « Origin and age of an ongoing radioactive contamination of soils near La hague reprocessing plant based on 239+240Pu/238Pu and 241Am/241Pu current ratios and 90Sr and Ln(III) soil contents. », Serveur académique Lausannois, ID : 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129332
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Nuclear reprocessing plants are sources of environmental contamination by gaseous or liquid discharges. Numerous radionuclides are of concern, with actinides and 90 Sr being the most radiotoxic. Environmental radioactivity survey programs mostly use γ-spectrometry to track contaminations because γ-spectrometry is very cost effective and can be carried out on raw samples. On the other hand, the determination of β- or α-emitting radionuclides in environmental samples requires rather sophisticated analytical methods, and are thus dedicated to specific goals. However, measuring radionuclides such as Pu, Am, and Sr often provides more information about the presence of a current or prior contamination and on its origin, based on the isotopic composition of the samples. We found that the analysis of 241 Pu, 239+240 Pu, 241 Am, and 90 Sr of a few selected soil samples taken near the nuclear reprocessing plant of La Hague, France, revealed the presence of a previous environmental contamination originating from several incidents in La Hague site involving atmospheric transfer and leaks in flooded waste pits. The 241 Am- 241 Pu dating method indicated a contamination period prior to 1983. The presence of elevated levels of light non-radioactive lanthanides and yttrium in the soil samples confirmed the involvement of cold fuel. Our results demonstrate how long-lived actinides are likely to reveal a long-term contamination of the environment by spent fuel. Our study indicates that there is a requirement to use more sophisticated tools than γ-spectrometry when surveying the environments surrounding industrial plants for nuclear power and nuclear reprocessing with a potential for the accidental release of radioactivity into the environment.