Cesium isotope ratios as indicators of nuclear power plant operations

There are multiple paths by which radioactive cesium can reach the effluent from reactor operations. The radioactive (135)Cs/(137)Cs ratios are controlled by these paths. In an effort to better understand the origin of this radiation, these (135)Cs/(137)Cs ratios in effluents from three power reactor sites have been measured in offsite samples. These ratios are different from global fallout by up to six fold and as such cannot have a significant component from this source. A cesium ratio for a sample collected outside of the plant boundary provides integration over the operating life of the reactor. A sample collected inside the plant at any given time can be much different from this lifetime ratio. The measured cesium ratios vary significantly for the three reactors and indicate that the multiple paths have widely varying levels of contributions. There are too many ways these isotopes can fractionate to be useful for quantitative evaluations of operating parameters in an offsite sample, although it may be possible to obtain limited qualitative information for an onsite sample.