Determination of 241Pu in environmental samples by a radiochemical procedure

Abstract The development of a radiochemical procedure for determining 241 Pu in environmental samples, by measuring the 241 Am built up in plutonium originally electrodeposited on stainless steel discs is presented and discussed. Results are given for environmental samples contaminated by plutonium from different sources. The 241 Pu/ 239+240 Pu activity ratio and also the 238 Pu/ 239+240 Pu activity ratio characterize the source term. The activity ratios in samples contaminated from different sources can be arranged in the following sequence: Chernobyl accident > Nuclear fuel reprocessing plants > Nuclear explosion tests > Nuclear weapon accidents.