Man-Made and Natural Radioactivity in Environmental Pollution and Radiochronology

420 Pages·2004·22.9 MB·English

by  Richard Tykva (auth.), Richard Tykva, Dieter Berg (eds.)

Man-Made and Natural Radioactivity in Environmental
Pollution and Radiochronology
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
VOLUME7
Editors
Brian I. Alloway, Department of Soil Science, The University of Reading, UK.
lack T Trevors, Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Ontario,
Canada
Editorial Board
T Anderson, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, US.A.
TH. Christensen, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Danish
Technical University, Lyngby, Denmark
I. Colbeck, Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Biological Sciences,
University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
K.C. Iones, Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Lancaster University, UK.
S. Parry, T.H. Huxley School of Environment, Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial
College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks, UK.
W. Salomons, GKSS Research Center, Geesthacht, Germany
Man-Made and Natural
Radioactivity in Environmental
Pollution and Radiochronology
Edited by
Richard Tykva
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,
Prague, Czech Republic
and
Dieter Berg
GSF - National Research Centre,
MunichINeuherberg, Germany
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90-481-6528-5 ISBN 978-94-017-0496-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-0496-0
Cover image:
Locations of nuc1ear explosions:
ALA: Alamogordo eHR: Christmas Islands EMU: Emu & Maralinga
.lOH: .Tohnston Islands LN: Lop Nur MAL: MaIden Islands
MAR: Marshall Islands MOR: Mururoa & Fangataut:1 NEV: Nevada
NZ: Novaya Zemlya REG: Reganne SEM: Semipalatinsk,
TRI: Trimoui11e Islands (Mon te Bello) TS: Test site
F: France, GB: United Kingdom, IND: India, PAK: Pakistan, USA: United States ofAmerica,
USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(Place names are noted as they were when explosions occurred.)
Printed on acid-fn!e paper
All Rights Reserved
© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2004
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, 01' transmitted
in any form 01' by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording
01' otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception
of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered
and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Contents
Contributors
IX
Preface
Xl
Chapter 1
BASIC TERMS OF RADIOACTIVITY 1
Richard Tykva
1. Development of our knowledge 1
2. Nuc1ides 2
3. Characterization of radionuc1ides 2
4. Activityexpressions 6
5. Doses 7
Chapter 2
RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ENVIRONMENT 13
Dieter Berg
1. Naturally occurring radionuc1ides in the environment 14
1.1. Primordial natural radionuc1ides 14
1.2. Secondarily occurring natural radionuc1ides 15
1.3. Naturally generated radionuc1ides 15
2. Artificially produced radionuc1ides 19
2.1. History of new artificial atomic nuc1ei 19
2.2. Generation by means of a partic1e accelerator 19
2.3. Production in the nuc1ear reactor 20
2.4. Generation from nuc1ear weapon tests 24
3. Behaviour ofradioactive substances in the environment 25
3.1. Behaviour in different ecological systems 25
3.2. Transfer of radionuclides into food-chains 40
3.3. Ecological models 49
3.4. Behaviour of selected radionuc1ides in the environment 50
Chapter 3
RADIONUCLIDES RELEASED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT 71
Dieter Berg
1. Contamination ofthe environment by naturally occurring radionuc1ides 71
1.1. Contamination without human influence 71
1.2. Contamination by human influences exc1uding nuc1ear techniques 72
1.3. Pollution after the introduction of nuc1ear techniques 77
2. Contamination by artificially produced radionuc1ides 82
2.1. Emissions during production and tests of nuc1ear weapons 82
2.2. Emissions by nuc1ear installations at standard operation 103
2.3. Pollution of the environment from accidents 110
2.4. Radioactive waste 138
2.5. Contamination by partic1e accelerators 142
2.6. Contamination by medical and industrial applications of radionuclides 143
2.7. Danger of contamination by criminal dealing in radioactive material 145
VI
Chapter4
APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIONUCLIDES IN
RADIOCHRONOLOGY 147
Jan Koster, Jan Sitar, Emil Jelfnek
1. General concept of the radiochronology 148
Jan Koster
2. Radiocarbon 150
Jan Si/ar
2.1. Origin ofradiocarbon 150
2.2. Natural radiocarbon cycle 151
2.3. Stable isotope ofCarbon I3C and its behaviour 153
2.4. Open and closed systems and dynamic equilibrium of 14C 157
2.5. The concept of the radiocarbon dating method 157
2.6. The radiocarbon age 158
2.7. CaIculation ofthe radiocarbon age 161
2.8. Precision ofthe radiocarbon age 162
2.9. Limits ofradiocarbon dating 162
2.10. Basic conditions affecting radiocarbon dating 163
2.11. Sampie coIIection, pre-treatment and storing 164
2.12. Factors affecting radiocarbon dating 174
2.13. Calibration ofradiocarbon age 176
2.14. Reporting of radiocarbon ages 178
3. Tritium 179
Jan Sitar
3.1. Tritium in the atmosphere and hydrosphere 179
3.2. Tritium as an environmental tracer 181
3.3. Sampling of water for tritium analyses 181
4. Radiocarbon and tritium dating in science and technology 182
Jan Si/ar
4.1. Different concepts of chronology: relative and absolute dating 182
4.2. Radiocarbon in archaeology 184
4.3. Radiocarbon in geology 188
4.4. Radiocarbon and tritium in hydrology 193
4.5. Radiocarbon and tritium and environmental problems 206
4.6. Radiocarbon and tritium in technology 209
5. Other radionucIides dating methods 212
Jan Sitar
5.1. Silicon 32Si dating 212
5.2. Argon 39 Ar dating 213
5.3. Krypton 85Kr dating 214
6. K -Ar and Ar -Ar dating methods 216
Emil Jelfnek
6.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 216
6.2. Concept of the method 217
6.3. K -Ar analytical technique 218
6.4. Ar -Ar analytical technique 219
vii
6.5. Step-heating and laser probe techniques 221
6.6. Applicability and limitations of K -Ar and Ar -Ar techniques 222
6.7. Representative examples 223
7. Rb -Sr dating method 224
Emil felinek
7.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 224
7.2. Concept of the method 225
7.3. Rb -Sr analytical techniques 227
7.4. Whole-rock and mineral dating of magmatic and metamorphic events 227
7.5. Sr isotopic composition of sediments and ocean water 229
7.6. Evolution of Sr isotope in time and Sr model ages 231
7.7. Representative examples 233
8. Sm -Nd method 237
fan Koffer
8.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 237
8.2. Concept of the method 238
8.3. Sm -Nd analytical techniques 240
8.4. Nd in rock-forming minerals 240
8.5. Whole-rock and mineral dating of magmatic and metamorphic events 241
8.6. Evolution of Nd isotopes in time 241
8.7. Age ca1culation based on Nd model 243
8.8. Nd isotopes: key to the petrogenesis of igneous rocks 245
8.9. Representative examples 248
9. U -Th -Pb dating methods 249
fan Koffer
9.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 249
9.2. Concept ofthe method 250
9.3. U(Th) -Pb analytical techniques 253
9.4. U-Pb dating-concordia diagrams, models of lead loss and intercept age 255
9.5. Single-Zircon evaporation dating, 207PbP06Pb apparent age 258
9.6. Common lead method of dating, age data from Pb model 259
9.7. Representative examples 262
10. Re -Os dating method 263
Emil felinek, fan Koffer
10.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 263
10.2. Concept of the method 263
10.3. Re -Os analytical techniques 264
10.4. Applicability and limitations of the Re -Os method 265
10.5. Representative examples 266
11. Lu -Hf dating method 267
Emil felinek
11.1. Chemical properties, radioactive decay and isotopic abundance 267
11.2. Concept of the method 268
11.3. Lu -Hf analytical techniques 268
11.4. Evolution of Hf isotopes in time 269
11.5. Applicability and limitations of the Lu -Hf method 270
11.6. Representative examples 270
Vlll
Chapter 5
RADIONUCLIDE ANALYSES 273
Richard Tykva, fan Kosler
1. Activity measurements 273
Richard Tykva
1.1. Basic terms 273
1.2. Detection efficiency and background 274
1.3. Counting and spectrometry 282
1.4. Sampie treatment 285
1.5. Categories of detectors 288
1.6. Special detection arrangements 303
1.7. Accuracy of activity measurements 311
2. Analytical techniques in radiogenic dating 322
fan Kosler
2.1. Sampie dissolution and chemical separation 323
2.2. Mass spectrometry with thermal ionisation source 325
2.3. Accelerator mass spectrometry 332
2.4. Isotope Dilution 334
References 337
Abbreviations 391
Index 395
IX
Contributors
DieterBerg
GSF - National Research Centre, Institute of Radiobiology
D - 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Emil Jelinek
Charles University, Fa culty of Science, Department of Geochemistry,
Mineralogy and Mineral Resources,
CZ - 12843 Prague 2, Czech Republic
Jan Kosler
Charles University, Fa culty of Science, Department of Geochemistry,
Mineralogy and Mineral Resources
CZ - 12843 Prague 2, Czech Rebuplic
Jan Silar
Charles University, Department of Hydrology, Engineering Geology and
Applied Geophysics
CZ - 12843 Prague 2, Czech Republic
Richard Tykva
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Organic Chemistry
and Biochemistry, Head, Department of Radioisotopes
CZ - 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
xi
Preface
Radioactivity can be detected at different levels in almost all objects all
over the world, including the human body. This omnipresence of naturally
occurring radioactivity is of immediate and crucial concern to people who
work in the nuclear industry, to state and local authorities responsible for
environmental protection and control of nuclear weapons, and to researchers
in scientific and technological disciplines, such as physics (e.g., interaction
of radiation with matter), chemistry (e.g., management of radioactive
wastes), biology Ce.g., radiation bioeffects and risks), ecology (e.g.,
remediation of environmental pollution), electronics (e.g., measurement
instruments), etc.
Unlike other environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals and
pesticides, some other scientific disciplines, for example, archaeology,
hydrology and geology, profit by the environmental radionuclides, using
methods based on their application in radiochronology.
The basic goal of this book is to exarnine the complex state of
radioactivity in the environment, including its sources and applications. In
principle, there are two sources of environmental radioactivity, namely man
made and natural. The authors of this book set out to analyze mainly
empirie al aspects of the activities of both groups. On one hand, a detailed
analysis of the sources releasing radionuclides into the environment by
human activities should, while describing environmental pollution and its
dangers, contribute to its decrease in the future. On the other hand, the
analyses of natural radionuclides, as weIl as their influences and use in
different fields, serve to complete an evaluation of the present state of
environmental radioactivity. All auxiliary parts (e.g., principles of
radionuclide analyses) are included to the extent necessary for understanding
the basic themes.
The many recent examples contained in the book will be useful in
studying various problems of radioactivity in the present environment, and
can help, not only in preparing, carrying out and evaluating outdoor and
laboratory experiments, but also in protection of the environment and
human health through analyses of possible sources of radioactive pollution.
January 2003
Richard Tykva and Dieter Berg