Abstract
LITTLE information is available to date on the occurrence of 241americium in sea water, except for data obtained in some special areas such as in the vicinity of a nuclear reprocessing plant (Windscale, UK)1 or in areas of close-in fallout from nuclear explosion tests (Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls, Pacific)2. So far, only a few data of 241Am obtained from one station in the North Atlantic have been published by Livingston et al.3. This is mainly due to analytical difficulties involved in determining extremely low concentrations of 241Am in open ocean waters. However, since the inventory of 241Am in radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel reprocessing is expected to exceed that of 239Pu plus 240Pu in the near future, it is important to start obtaining baseline data of 241Am in oceanic waters now, in order to follow the future trend of concentration changes, if any, of this isotope.
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References
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FUKAI, R., BALLESTRA, S. & HOLM, E. 241Americium in Mediterranean surface waters. Nature 264, 739–740 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/264739a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/264739a0
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