Investigation of Isotopic Signatures for Sources of Groundwater Contamination at the Hanford Site

摘要

Isotopes of several elements were measured in groundwater to provide a more complete characterization of contaminants. The additional species are expected to help identify contaminant sources and to aid interpretation of contaminant transport mechanisms by providing 'signatures' of particular sources and plumes. Most of the work reported here involved development of techniques for analysis by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. These include the analysis of uranium, plutonium, ruthenium, and molybdenum isotopes. In addition to these, a survey of analyses by accelerator mass spectrometry for chlorine-36 in groundwater is reported.