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Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
On the 209Po half-life error and its confirmation: an answer to the critique
Stefaan Pommé1, Ljudmila Benedik2
1European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
Abstract:
Pommé et al. published a paper claiming that the 209Po half-life is 20 % higher than the erroneous value of 102 (5) a used for 50 years. Collé and Collé published a critique saying that 'this claim cannot withstand critical scrutiny'. In this work, counterarguments are presented to the critique. The experiment has been continued and a new intermediate half-life value of 122.7 (27) a was obtained. A brief review is made of the 209Po half-life value by Collé et al. and a recommended value of 122.9 (23) a is derived from both experiments.
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