Distribution and behavior of some radionuclides associated with the Trinity nuclear test

• Published in: Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry Vol. 295; no. 3; pp. 2049 - 2057
• Main Authors: Bellucci, Jeremy J., Wallace, Christine, Koeman, Elizabeth C., Simonetti, Antonio, Burns, Peter C., Kieser, Jeremy, Port, Eli, Walczak, Terri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.03.2013; Springer
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Comparative analysis; Correlation; Devices; Diagnostic Radiology; Fission; Fission products; Grounds; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Inorganic Chemistry; Isotopes; Mathematical models; Nuclear Chemistry; Nuclear Physics; Nuclear weapons; Physical Chemistry; Radioisotopes; Testing; Toy industry; Uranium; Radionuclides; Nuclear forensics; Fission and activation products; Trinitite; Gamma spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0236-5731; 1588-2780
• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-012-2201-4

The activities of 133 Ba, 137 Cs, 152 Eu, 154 Eu, 155 Eu, 239 Pu, and 241 Am were determined by gamma spectroscopy on the largest sample set (n = 49) of bulk trinitite to date. The range in activity for all isotopes is large. For example, the activity of 241 Am (normalized to the time of detonation) ranges between 1 and 42 Bq/g. Comparison of activities for isotopes derived from the device, 241 Am versus 137 Cs, 155 Eu, and 239 Pu, indicate positive trends. Correlations were not observed between the activities of the soil-derived activation products 152 Eu and 154 Eu and the radioisotopes from the device. The calculated ratio of fission products ( 155 Eu/ 137 Cs) is 0.012 ± .006 (1σ, n = 3), which is lower than predicted for the thermal neutron-induced fission of 239 Pu (~0.03). This discrepancy may be attributed to the spontaneous fission of the natural U tamper resulting in mixing between fission products from 239 Pu and 235 U. The spatial distribution of the trinitite samples relative to ground zero has been modeled based on the activity of 152 Eu. The calculated distances do not correlate with any of the activities for the radioisotopes investigated here, and suggest a relatively homogeneous distribution. However, trinitite samples with the highest activities for 137 Cs, 239 Pu, and 241 Am yield the shortest calculated distances of 50–60 m away from ground zero.