THE RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LONG-LIVED RADON DECAY PRODUCTS AND THEIR USE AS NATURAL ATMOSPHERIC TRACERS

摘要

Radiochemical separation methods have been developed for the measurement of small quantities of RaD BaE and RaF collected on air filters and in rainwater. Chemical yields of 80% are obtained and the limit of sensitivity for the detection of these isotopes is about 10-12 curie. Less than 0.01% of the fission product activity collected in the original sample remains in the final separated fractions.nThe methods have been used to measure the concentration of RaD and RaF in rainwater and in airborne dust collected at altitudes up to 48,000 feet above the U.K. The results of this preliminary study give useful information about atmos-pheric processes, and indicate that long-lived natural radioactivity is a valuable atmospheric tracer.