1. Concentrations of iodine isotopes (129I and 127I) and their isotopic ratios in aerosol samples from Northern Germany.
- Author
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Daraoui, A., Riebe, B., Walther, C., Wershofen, H., Schlosser, C., Vockenhuber, C., and Synal, H.-A.
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IODINE isotopes , *ATMOSPHERIC aerosols , *KRYPTON isotopes , *INDUCTIVELY coupled plasma mass spectrometry - Abstract
New data about 129 I, 127 I concentrations and their isotopic ratios in aerosol samples from the trace survey station of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, Northern Germany, are presented and discussed in this paper. The investigated samples were collected on a weekly basis during the years 2011 to 2013. Iodine was extracted from aerosol filters using a strong basic solution and was separated from the matrix elements with chloroform and was analysed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for 129 I and by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for 127 I. The concentrations of 127 I and 129 I in aerosol filters ranged from 0.31 to 3.71 ng m −3 and from 0.06 to 0.75 fg m −3 , respectively. The results of 129 I/ 127 I isotopic ratios were in the order 10 −8 to 10 −7 . The 129 I originated directly from gaseous emissions and indirectly from liquid emissions (via sea spray) from the reprocessing plants in Sellafield and La Hague. In comparison with the results of 131 I after the Fukushima accident, no contribution of 129 I from this accident was detectable in Central Europe due to the high background originating from the 129 I releases of the European reprocessing plants. 129 I atmospheric activity concentrations were compared with those of an anthropogenic radionuclide ( 85 Kr). We did not find any correlation between 129 I and 85 Kr, both having nuclear reprocessing plant as the main source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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