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Enrichment of 235U and the concentration of 239Pu in volcanic samples

Abstract

There have been at least two reports1,2 of volcanic materials containing enhanced levels of plutonium. In both cases, the Pu/U ratio ranged from 10−10 to 10−8, compared with a ratio of 10−12 in uranium ores of non-volcanic origin3. The natural occurrence of significant concentrations of plutonium in the Earth's crust or mantle would have profound implications for many geophysical processes, but all the samples analysed so far were collected after the first nuclear explosions, and thus may have been contaminated by atmospheric fallout. We have therefore now measured the plutonium content and uranium isotope ratio of a number of samples collected before the first nuclear explosions. The results conform with those reported for non-volcanic uranium ores.

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Fried, S., Friedman, A., Callis, E. et al. Enrichment of 235U and the concentration of 239Pu in volcanic samples. Nature 313, 301–303 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313301a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/313301a0

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