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  • Title: Determination of uranium isotopes in soil core samples collected on the JCO grounds after the criticality accident.
    Author: Yoshida S, Muramatsu Y, Tagami K.
    Journal: Environ Sci Technol; 2001 Nov 01; 35(21):4174-9. PubMed ID: 11718329.
    Abstract:
    To evaluate the impact of the 1999 criticality accident in Tokai-mura on the U isotope composition in soils, U isotopes (235U and 238U) were determined with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for soil core samples collected on the JCO grounds after the accident. The 235U/238U ratios were higher than the natural ratio in most samples. The highest ratio observed was 0.0262. Although vertical profiles of the 235U/238U ratio differed among the soil cores, the ratios tended to be high at the surface and decreased with depth. The U concentration also changed with depth. The percentages of 235U in the excess U, estimated from the positive correlation between U concentration and the 235U/238U ratio in soil samples, were less than 4% by mass (mostly 1-3%) and were much lower than the enrichment of the U used in the uranium conversion building at the time of the criticality accident (18.8%). These findings indicate that enriched U had been released before the criticality accident during the U processing at JCO in connection with the reconversion of light water reactor fuel. Since the range of the U concentrations found was comparable to the range of uncontaminated Japanese surface soils, the amount of U added to the soil was judged negligible from a radiation protection viewpoint.
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