Compositions of Airborne Plutonium-Bearing Particles from a Plutonium Finishing Operation.

摘要

The elemental composition of 111plutonium-bearing particles was determined (using an electron microprobe) as part of a program to investigate the origin and behavior of the long-lived transuranic radionuclides released from fuel reprocessing facilities at the Savannah River Plant. These particles,collected from wet-cabinet and room-air exhausts from the plutonium finishing operation (JB-Line),were between 0.4and 36mu m in diameter. Ninety-nine of the particles were found to be aggregates of various minerals and metals,six were quartz,and six were small (less than 2-mu m-diameter) pieces of iron oxide. Collectively,these particles contained less minerals and more metals than natural dusts contain. The metallic constituents included elements normally not found in dusts, e.g.,chromium,nickel,copper,and zinc. Concentrations of aluminum and iron exceeded those normally found in minerals. Elemental concentrations in individual particles covered a wide range:one 2-mu m-diameter particle contained 97percent NiO, a 9-mu m-diameter particle contained 72percent Cr sub 2 O sub 3 . Although the particles were selected because they produced plutonium fission tracks,the plutonium concentration was too low to be estimated by microprobe analysis in all but a 1-mu m-diameter particle. This plutonium-bearing particle contained 73percent PuO sub 2by weight in combination with Fe sub 2 O sub 3and mica;its activity was estimated at 0.17pCi of exp 239Pu. (ERA citation 02:009202)