Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia
The British government performed a number of nuclear weapon tests on Australian territory from 1952 through to 1963 with the cooperation of the Australian government. Nine fission bombs were detonated in South Australia at Emu Junction and Maralinga, and a further three fission weapons were detonate...
Published in: | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |
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ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/05d3f3da-9340-46c3-8ffd-2e16d17d8c45 2024-10-20T14:02:44+00:00 Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia Child, D. P. Hotchkis, M. A. C. 2013 https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/05d3f3da-9340-46c3-8ffd-2e16d17d8c45 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Child , D P & Hotchkis , M A C 2013 , ' Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia ' , Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms , vol. 294 , pp. 642-646 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 ²³³U ²³⁶U Australia Contamination Fallout Montebello Nuclear Plutonium Uranium article 2013 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 2024-10-10T00:34:43Z The British government performed a number of nuclear weapon tests on Australian territory from 1952 through to 1963 with the cooperation of the Australian government. Nine fission bombs were detonated in South Australia at Emu Junction and Maralinga, and a further three fission weapons were detonated in the Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. A number of soil samples were collected by the Australian Radiation Laboratories in 1972 and 1978 during field surveys at these nuclear weapon test sites. They were analysed by gamma spectrometry and, for a select few samples, by alpha spectrometry to measure the remaining activities of fission products, activation products and weapon materials. We have remeasured a number of these Montebello Islands and Emu Junction soil samples using the ANTARES AMS facility, ANSTO. These samples were analysed for plutonium and uranium isotopic ratios and isotopic concentrations. Very low ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios were measured at both sites (∼0.05 for Alpha Island and ∼0.02 for Emu Field), substantially below global fallout averages. Well correlated but widely varying ²³⁶U and plutonium concentrations were measured across both sites, but 233U did not correlate with these other isotopes and instead showed correlation with distance from ground zero, indicating in situ production in the soils. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alpha Island Macquarie University Research Portal Alpha Island ENVELOPE(-63.000,-63.000,-64.317,-64.317) Bello ENVELOPE(-56.933,-56.933,-64.333,-64.333) Monte Bello ENVELOPE(18.169,18.169,68.848,68.848) Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 294 642 646 |
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Macquarie University Research Portal |
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language |
English |
topic |
²³³U ²³⁶U Australia Contamination Fallout Montebello Nuclear Plutonium Uranium |
spellingShingle |
²³³U ²³⁶U Australia Contamination Fallout Montebello Nuclear Plutonium Uranium Child, D. P. Hotchkis, M. A. C. Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
topic_facet |
²³³U ²³⁶U Australia Contamination Fallout Montebello Nuclear Plutonium Uranium |
description |
The British government performed a number of nuclear weapon tests on Australian territory from 1952 through to 1963 with the cooperation of the Australian government. Nine fission bombs were detonated in South Australia at Emu Junction and Maralinga, and a further three fission weapons were detonated in the Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. A number of soil samples were collected by the Australian Radiation Laboratories in 1972 and 1978 during field surveys at these nuclear weapon test sites. They were analysed by gamma spectrometry and, for a select few samples, by alpha spectrometry to measure the remaining activities of fission products, activation products and weapon materials. We have remeasured a number of these Montebello Islands and Emu Junction soil samples using the ANTARES AMS facility, ANSTO. These samples were analysed for plutonium and uranium isotopic ratios and isotopic concentrations. Very low ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios were measured at both sites (∼0.05 for Alpha Island and ∼0.02 for Emu Field), substantially below global fallout averages. Well correlated but widely varying ²³⁶U and plutonium concentrations were measured across both sites, but 233U did not correlate with these other isotopes and instead showed correlation with distance from ground zero, indicating in situ production in the soils. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Child, D. P. Hotchkis, M. A. C. |
author_facet |
Child, D. P. Hotchkis, M. A. C. |
author_sort |
Child, D. P. |
title |
Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
title_short |
Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
title_full |
Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
title_fullStr |
Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia |
title_sort |
plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in australia |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/05d3f3da-9340-46c3-8ffd-2e16d17d8c45 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.000,-63.000,-64.317,-64.317) ENVELOPE(-56.933,-56.933,-64.333,-64.333) ENVELOPE(18.169,18.169,68.848,68.848) |
geographic |
Alpha Island Bello Monte Bello |
geographic_facet |
Alpha Island Bello Monte Bello |
genre |
Alpha Island |
genre_facet |
Alpha Island |
op_source |
Child , D P & Hotchkis , M A C 2013 , ' Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia ' , Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms , vol. 294 , pp. 642-646 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.05.018 |
container_title |
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |
container_volume |
294 |
container_start_page |
642 |
op_container_end_page |
646 |
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