AMS analysis of iodine-129 in aerosols from Austria

Author(s)

Tania Jabbar, Peter Steier, Gabriele Wallner, Norbert Kandler, Christian Katzlberger

Abstract

Atmospheric concentrations of many elements have been significantly increased by human activities. The quantification of these changes and their effect on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is important because of their potentially adverse effects. The human nuclear activities, especially releases from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, are presently the main source of (129)I in the environment.In this work, the concentration of (129)I and the ratios of (129)I/(127)I in aerosols weekly collected in Vienna, Austria (202 m a.s.l) during the year 2001 are presented. Iodine was extracted from the aerosol filters using a strong basic solution and separated from the matrix elements by anion exchange. The chemical yield of the procedure, determined by ICP-MS, ranges from 70% to 95%. The AMS results indicated that the (129)I/(127)I isotopic ratios were of the order 10(-8) to 10(-7). The (129)I originated from gaseous emissions from the Sellafield reprocessing plant. The measured (129)I concentrations were compared with those of (7)Be, a cosmogenic radionuclide. Although, both radionuclides exhibit nearly the same distribution pattern (higher levels in summer and lower in winter) their different origins can clearly be deduced from short term variations.

Organisation(s)

Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Isotope Physics

External organisation(s)

AGES - Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit

Volume

269

Pages

3183-3187

No. of pages

5

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2011.04.023

Publication date

2011

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

104003 Inorganic chemistry, 103005 Atomic physics

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 15 - Life on Land

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d27baa4b-7615-4f7b-babb-1d16c2588562