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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Study of an alpha track analysis and a fission track analysis for determining the hot particles contaminated with Pu
1Nuclear Chemistry Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon, Republic of Korea. mhlee@kaeri.re.kr
Abstract:
A fission track analysis and alpha track analysis were developed to detect fissile particles such as uranium and plutonium isotopes as well as to identify particle-bound plutonium in contaminated soil or sediment. To record a reference point, a locator SEM grid electroplated with boron was used to obtain a recorded grid image on the Lexan or CR-39 detector. With the fission track technique, the track images of the grid coated with boron and the fissile nuclides on the CR-39 detector were clearly recorded so that the location of the fissile particles could be easily identified in the radio-contaminated soil matrix. With the alpha track technique, many of the hot particles in the BOMARC soil turned out to be contaminated with plutonium isotopes rather than uranium isotopes.
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