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At least 19 records

Beryllium 7 and lead 210 in the Western Hemisphere Arctic atmosphere - Observations from three recent aircraft-based sampling programs

Concentrations of the natural radionuclides Be-7 and Pb-210 in the Western Hemisphere Arctic atmosphere were determined during the recent NOAA Arctic Gas and Aerosol Sampling Program (AGASP 3) and NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment/Arctic Boundary Layer Expeditions (GTE/ABLE 3A and ABLE 3B) missions. Be-7 concentrations measured during the AGASP 3 mission north and west of Norway are in accord with previous results for high northern latitudes, but suggest that the 'stratospheric' air masses sampled at the highest elevations reached were significantly diluted with tropospheric air. Higher resolution sampling in the free troposphere of the North American Arctic during ABLE 3B revealed a layer of elevated Be-7 concentrations near 5 km. The distribution of Pb-210 in the high-altitude troposphere of North America during the summer was quite similar to distributions of more frequently measured aerosol species.

Dibb, Jack E.↗

Asian Influence Over the Western North Pacific during the Fall Season: Inferences from Lead 210, Soluble Ionic Species and Ozone

Aerosol samples collected over the western Pacific during the NASA/Global Tropospheric Experiment Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM-West A) expedition (September - October 1991) revealed mean Pb-210 concentrations in the free troposphere in the 5-10 fCi m(exp -3) STP range. Most soluble ionic aerosol-associated species were near detection limits [much less than 40 parts per trillion by volume (pptv)] in these same samples. The altitude distribution of O3 near Asia closely resembled that of Pb-210, while no relationship was found between the concentrations of O3 and Be-7. Free tropospheric air over the western Pacific was depleted in soluble aerosol-associated species but enriched in Pb-210 and O3, indicative of deep wet convection over the Asian continent. The influence of Asian air on the composition of the free troposphere over the western Pacific was evident on most of the PEM-West A flights. However, evidence of continental influence was largely restricted to those species that are relatively insoluble (or have insoluble precursors), hence escape scavenging during vertical transport from the boundary layer into the free troposphere by wet convective activity.

Dibb, J. E.↗

Distributions of Beryllium 7 and Lead 210, and Soluble Aerosol-Associated Ionic Species Over the Western Pacific: PEM West B, February - March 1994

Aerosol sampling for the determination of the concentrations of soluble ionic species and the natural radionuclides Be-7 and Pb-210 was conducted from the NASA DC-8 over the western Pacific as part of GTE/PEM-West B during February - March 1994. Concentrations of most soluble ionic species in the free troposphere were higher in samples collected on flights originating from Hong Kong and Japan than those collected further east over the open ocean. In both regions the measured concentrations were higher than those found during PEM-West A (fall 1991). Activities of Pb-210, a tracer of air masses influenced by sources on the Asian continent, showed the same patterns. These data indicate the effect of stronger continental outflow from Asia over the western Pacific during the spring compared to fall season. For readily scavenged aerosol-associated species and soluble acidic gases the strongest indications of Asian outflow were restricted to altitudes below 6 km. The distribution of the continental tracer Pb-210 was also compared to those of a large number of gas phase species measured on the DC-8. Relatively strong correlations were found with O3, and peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN), but only during the flights over the remote Pacific. During PEM-West A, similar correlations were seen, but they were stronger near Asia. We believe that correlations are a signature of continental air that has been processed by deep wet convection over land before being advected over the ocean. One flight over the Sea of Japan provided the opportunity to sample upper troposphere/lower stratosphere air in and around a tropopause fold. Concentrations of Be-7 reached 7 pCi/cu m STP, and peak O3, mixing ratios of 480 ppb were encountered at 10.7 km. The Be-7 data are used to estimate the fraction of stratospheric air mixed down into the troposphere by circulation in the fold.

Dibb, J. E.↗

Distributions of Beryllium 7 and Lead 210, and Soluble Aerosol-Associated Ionic Species Over the Western Pacific: PEM West B

Aerosol sampling for the determination of the concentrations of soluble ionic species and the natural radionuclides Be-7 and Pb-210 was conducted from the NASA DC-8 over the western Pacific as part of GTE/PEM-West B during February - March 1994. Concentrations of most soluble ionic species in the free troposphere were higher in samples collected on flights originating from Hong Kong and Japan than those collected further east over the open ocean. In both regions the measured concentrations were higher than those found during PEM-West A (fall 1991). Activities of Pb-210 tracer of air masses influenced by sources on the Asian continent, showed the same patterns. These data indicate the effect of stronger continental outflow from Asia over the western Pacific during the spring compared to fall season. For readily scavenged aerosol-associated species and soluble acidic gases the strongest indications of Asian outflow were restricted to altitudes below 6 km. The distribution of the continental tracer Pb-210 was also compared to those of a large number of gas phase species measured on the DC-8. Relatively strong correlations were found with O3 and peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN), but only during the flights over the remote Pacific. During PEM-West A, similar correlations were seen, but they were stronger near Asia. We believe that these correlations are a signature of continental air that has been processed by deep wet convection over land before being advected over the ocean. One flight over the Sea of Japan provided the opportunity to sample upper troposphere/lower stratosphere air in and around a tropopause fold. Concentrations of Be-7 reached 7 pCi/cu m STP, and peak O3, mixing ratios of 480 ppb were encountered at 10.7 km. The Be-7 data are used to estimate the fraction of stratospheric air mixed down into the troposphere by circulation in the fold.

Didd, J. E.↗

Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 210

Evaluated spectroscopic data for {sup 210}Au, {sup 210}Hg, {sup 210}Tl, {sup 210}Pb, {sup 210}Bi, {sup 210}Po, {sup 210}At, {sup 210}Rn, {sup 210}Fr, {sup 210}Ra, {sup 210}Ac, and {sup 210}Th and corresponding level schemes from radioactive decay and reaction studies are presented. This evaluation supersedes the previous evaluation by E. Browne (2003Br13). Highlights of this publication are the identification of new μs isomers of {sup 210}Hg by 2013Go10 and measurement of an excited level energy at 1709 keV 30 of {sup 210}Rn from {sup 214}Rn α decay: 68.6 μs by 2006Ku26 denoted as x+1664.6 in the Adopted Levels. Earlier experimental limits for x≤50 keV was proposed in 1979Po19 and 1982Po03 – (HI,xnγ)

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Removal of {sup 222}Rn daughters from metal surfaces

Removal of the long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters ({sup 210}Pb, {sup 210}Bi and {sup 210}Po) from copper, stainless steel and germanium surfaces was investigated. As cleaning techniques etching and electro-polishing was applied to samples in a form of discs exposed earlier to a strong radon source. Reduction of the {sup 210}Pb activity was tested using a HPGe spectrometer, for {sup 210}Bi a beta spectrometer and for {sup 210}Po an alpha spectrometer was used. According to the conducted measurements electro-polishing was always more efficient compared to etching and in case of copper the activity reduction factors for {sup 210}Pb, {sup 210}Bi and {sup 210}Po were between 200 and 400. Etching does not remove {sup 210}Po from copper but works very efficiently from germanium. Results obtained for {sup 210}Pb and {sup 210}Bi for etched stainless steel were worse but still slightly better than those achieved for copper.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Comparison of {sup 238}U, {sup 210}Po and {sup 210}Pb Speciation in Six Different Types of Soils

Speciation of {sup 238}U, {sup 210}Po and {sup 210}Pb in six different types of Syrian soil (Entisols, Inceptisol, Aridisol, Mollisols, Vertisols and Rock outcrops) was studied using a four-step sequential extraction procedure. The binding nature of {sup 238}U, {sup 210}Po and {sup 210}Pb was correlated with soil properties including soil particles, pH, EC, OM, sand, silt and clay. The results showed that the exchangeable and carbonate fractions of {sup 238}U did not exceed 10%. In addition, the {sup 238}U, {sup 210}Po and {sup 210}Pb fractions bonded to organic matter increased as the soil clay content decreased. The highest {sup 210}Po fraction was found to be bonded to soil Fe/Al/Mn-oxides for Entisols soils (56%) and silica for Aridisol soils (53%). Soil clay content showed a linear correlation with {sup 210}Po concentrations in soils ranging from 0.34 to 0.91. The results are considered useful in assessing the risks resulting from soils contaminated by naturally occurring radioactive material from the phosphate and oil industry.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Background reduction of a spherical gaseous detector

The Spherical gaseous detector (or Spherical Proportional Counter, SPC) is a novel type of detector. It consists of a large spherical volume filled with gas, using a single detection readout channel. The detector allows 100 % detection efficiency. SEDINE is a low background version of SPC installed at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM) underground laboratory (4800 m.w.e) looking for rare events at very low energy threshold, below 100 eV. This work presents the details on the chemical cleaning to reduce internal {sup 210}Pb surface contamination on the copper vessel and the external radon reduction achieved via circulation of pure air inside anti-radon tent. It will be also show the radon measurement of pure gases (Ar, N, Ne, etc) which are used in the underground laboratory for the low background experiments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Background analysis and status of the ANAIS dark matter project

ANAIS (Annual modulation with NaI Scintillators) is a project aiming to set up at the new facilities of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC), a large scale NaI(Tl) experiment in order to explore the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation positive result using the same target and technique. Two 12.5 kg each NaI(Tl) crystals provided by Alpha Spectra took data at the LSC in the ANAIS-25 set-up. The comparison of the background model for the ANAIS-25 prototypes with the experimental results is presented. ANAIS crystal radiopurity goals have been achieved for {sup 232}Th and {sup 238}U chains, but a {sup 210}Pb contamination out-of-equilibrium was identified, whose origin has been studied. The high light collection efficiency obtained with these prototypes allows to anticipate an energy threshold of the order of 1 keVee. A new detector, with improved performances, was received in March 2015 and very preliminary results are shown.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Influence of High Isostatic Pressure on Critical Current Density in C-Doped MgB{sub 2} Wires

This article reports the influence of isostatic pressure (from 0.1 MPa to 1.1 GPa), low annealing temperature of 570 {sup ∘}C, and annealing time for the formation of high-field pinning centers in 2% C-doped MgB{sub 2} wires. Measurements indicate that 1.1 GPa pressure significantly increases the density of high-field pinning centers below 20 K. However, lower pressure (0.6 GPa) slightly increases the density of high-field pinning centers. Increasing the annealing time from 120 to 210 min leads to a reduction of critical temperature (T{sub c}), irreversibility field (B{sub irr}), critical current density (J{sub c}), and upper critical field (B{sub c2}), suggesting that a long annealing time leads to a reduction of high-field pinning center density and the number of connections between superconducting grains. The high pressures and low annealing temperature lead to a high critical current density of 1000 A/mm{sup 2} in 7.2 T and 100 A/mm{sup 2} in 12.5 T at 4.2 K in MgB{sub 2} wires.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of Cobalt on the Crystal Structure and Magnetism of Electron-Doped Sr{sub 0.8}Ce{sub 0.2}MnO{sub 3} Oxide

The Sr{sub 0.8}Ce{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 1 –} {sub y}Co{sub y}O{sub 3 – δ} (y = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6) complex oxides with the perovskite structure obtained from simple oxides by the solid–state reaction technique have been examined using structural analysis and magnetic measurements. Substitution of Co for Mn in the dilute Sr{sub 0.8}Ce{sub 0.2}MnO{sub 3} antiferromagnet with a Néel temperature of T{sub N} = 210 K leads to a decrease in the degree of tetragonal distortion of the crystal structure and transition to the cubic cell. The degeneracy of the antiferromagnetic interaction (T{sub N} = 138 K at y = 0.2) observed at the first stage of the substitution of Co for Mn changes for its gradual enhancement with an increase in the magnetic transformation temperature up to 239 K at y = 0.6. An increase in the Co content weakens the competition between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings and reduces the temperature of the transition to the spin-glass-like state. The magnetic inhomogeneity and formation of Co{sup 2+}–Mn{sup 4+} ferromagnetic clusters in Sr{sub 0.8}Ce{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.6}O{sub 2.69} at 140 K have been observed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation: Disposal of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Activated Metals at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site

This Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation (UDQE) assesses whether the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Activated Metals (ORNLACTMETAL1, Revision 6 [ORNL 2018a]) is suitable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Disposal of the ORNL Activated Metals waste stream meets all performance objectives of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual DOE M 435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management Manual, Chapter IV, Section P (DOE 1999). The ORNL Activated Metals waste stream is acceptable for disposal with the conditions that the total cobalt-60 ( 60 Co) activity shall not exceed 1.1E+14 Bq, the total niobium-94 ( 94 Nb) activity shall not exceed 4.5E+10 Bq, the total cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) activity shall not exceed 1.1E+12 Bq, the total lead-210 ( 210 Pb) activity shall not exceed 1.3E+09 Bq, and the total radium-226 ( 226 Ra) activity shall not exceed 5.0E+11 Bq.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

A Method for Understanding the Behaviour of Radioactive Decay Chains in Radiological Assessments - 19382

In many radiological groundwater pathway assessments, especially those where the assessment timescales of interest are relatively short (say a few thousand years or less), contributions to effective dose or radiological risk are dominated by radionuclides such as C-14, Cl-36 or I-129. Over longer timescales, additional radionuclides can also become key contributors to risk. In particular, members of the U-238 decay chain, notably Ra-226 and Pb-210, are likely to be key radionuclides. Other decay chains that can contribute significantly to dose or risk at times far into the future include Np-237 → U-233 → Th-229 and U-235 → Pa-231 → Ac-227. In this paper, a method is described for understanding decay chain behaviour in radiological assessments. The method uses a graphical approach in which the various modes of transport and decay in a system of connected compartments are represented as pathways between two nodes in a two-dimensional grid. Each pathway corresponds to a distinct transport and decay process. By so doing, the different transport and decay processes can be identified in a systematic way. The result is an algorithm for generating the contributions to effective dose or radiological risk without explicit solution of the transport equations. The method has been tested against numerical models and analytic solutions and found to give excellent agreement, while at the same time providing information about decay chain behaviour that would be difficult to obtain from a numerical assessment model. The power of the method is illustrated by applying it to some examples based on real repository concepts. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Modeling of Lead-210 Data Documents Benefits in Proactively Understanding TENORM Deposition - 18515

Radioactive decay of naturally occurring Radon-222 present in just-produced natural gas can lead to deposition of its radiogenic daughter, Lead-210, and subsequent radiogenic progeny within natural gas handling, treatment, and distribution facilities. Worker safety issues and disposal challenges arise when these accumulate to radiologically problematic activity levels. This is due to the 22.3-year half-life of Lead-210, allowing for multi-decade period of accumulation to occur and to persist, even after facility operations have ceased. Due to the far shorter half-lives of Lead-210 radiogenic progeny, especially that of Polonium-210, secular equilibrium within the Lead-210-Bismuth-210-Polonium-210 decay chain is quickly approached during facility operations and achieved after facility operations end. Lead-210 that accumulates in pipe scale can complicate any subsequent intrusive facility modifications, such as disassembly and dismantlement, potentially exposing workers to adverse radioactivity and impeding recycling and/or disposal of radiologically impacted equipment or other material. Experience has shown it is not strictly the presence of Lead-210 that is problematic but rather its 'unexpected' presence when this Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM) is discovered during intrusive work not incorporating radiological health and safety and material handling plans. Conversely, when implementing a program that proactively considers the potential for Lead-210, this form of TENORM simply becomes another 'special waste' that can be safely, efficiently, and effectively addressed during a decommissioning effort, without associated adverse worker exposures, project cost over-runs, and schedule delays. This paper will discuss how proactive radioactive scanning quickly and safely identified Lead-210 and its radiogenic progeny within a natural gas sweetening and compressor station located in northern Montana, a portion of which was undergoing decommissioning, aiding in safe and compliant material handling and recycling. The location of this operation necessitated that the decommissioning program be completed on schedule to prevent weather-related impacts due to the onset of adverse winter conditions. Further, the radioactive data acquired during this project will be shown to provide important insight into historic behavior of Lead-210 in terms of its disposition and its more recent decay. From these data, it became possible to back-model the average activity of Radon-222 within the natural gas being processed during the life of the operation, how the estimated Radon-222 activity within the processed natural gas conformed to measured Radon-222 at various other natural gas fields, and how this information can be leveraged in developing safe and successful plans for future intrusive work at this and companion site operations. This presentation will also note the apparent preferential accumulation of Lead-210 within both rubber-based materials, such as gaskets and seals, and grease-based products found within natural gas flow lines. Thoughts regarding processes that may lead to this finding will be explored. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Excess Lead-210 and Plutonium-239+240: Two suitable radiogenic soil erosion tracers for mountain grassland sites

Highlights: • First application of excess Lead-210 as soil tracer in alpine grasslands. • {sup 239+240}Pu/{sup 137}Cs ratios indicated 75% Chernobyl contribution to {sup 137}Cs inventory. • {sup 239+240}Pu is compared to more mature radioisotopic tracers (i.e. {sup 210}Pb{sub ex} and {sup 137}Cs). • {sup 210}Pb{sub ex}, {sup 137}Cs and {sup 239+240}Pu yielded comparable estimates of soil redistribution. The expected growing population and challenges associated with globalisation will increase local food and feed demands and enhance the pressure on local and regional upland soil resources. In light of these potential future developments it is necessary to define sustainable land use and tolerable soil loss rates with methods applicable and adapted to mountainous areas. Fallout-radionuclides (FRNs) are proven techniques to increase our knowledge about the status and resilience of agro-ecosystems. However, the use of the Caesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs) method is complicated in the European Alps due to its heterogeneous input and the timing of the Chernobyl fallout, which occurred during a few single rain events on partly snow covered ground. Other radioisotopic techniques have been proposed to overcome these limitations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the suitability of excess Lead-210 ({sup 210}Pb{sub ex}) and Plutonium-239+240 ({sup 239+240}Pu) as soil erosion tracers for three different grassland management types at the steep slopes (slope angles between 35 and 38°) located in the Central Swiss Alps. All three FRNs identified pastures as having the highest mean (± standard deviation) net soil loss of −6.7 ± 1.1, −9.8 ± 6.8 and −7.0 ± 5.2 Mg ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1} for {sup 137}Cs, {sup 210}Pb{sub ex} and {sup 239+240}Pu, respectively. A mean soil loss of −5.7 ± 1.5, −5.2 ± 1.5 and-5.6 ± 2.1 was assessed for hayfields and the lowest rates were established for pastures with dwarf-shrubs (−5.2 ± 2.5, −4.5 ± 2.5 and −3.3 ± 2.4 Mg ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1} for {sup 137}Cs, {sup 210}Pb{sub ex} and {sup 239+240}Pu, respectively). These rates, evaluated at sites with an elevated soil erosion risk exceed the respective soil production rates. Among the three FRN methods used, {sup 239+240}Pu appears as the most promising tracer in terms of measurement uncertainty and reduced small scale variability (CV of 13%). Despite a higher level of uncertainty, {sup 210}Pb{sub ex} produced comparable results, with a wide range of erosion rates sensitive to changes in grassland management. {sup 210}Pb{sub ex} can then be as well considered as a suitable soil tracer to investigate alpine agroecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Radiation exposure of LDEF: Initial results

Initial results from Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) include radiation detector measurements from four experiments; P0006, P0004, M0004, and A0015. The detectors were located on both the leading and trailing edges of the orbiter and also at the Earthside end. This allowed the directional dependence of the incoming radiation to be measured. Total absorbed doses from thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) verified the predicted spatial east-west dose dependence of a factor of approx. 2.5, due to trapped proton anisotropy in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). On the trailing edge of the orbiter, a range of doses from 664 to 291 rad were measured under nominal shielding of 0.42 to 8.45 g/sq cm. A second set of detectors near this locations results are also given. On the leading edge, doses of 258 to 210 rad were found under shielding of 1.25 to 2.48 g/sq cm. Initial charged particle LET (linear energy transfer) spectra, fluxes, doses, and dose equivalents, for LET in H2O greater than or = 5 keV/micron, were measured with plastic nuclear track detectors located in the four experiments. Also, preliminary data on low energy neutrons were obtained from detectors containing (6)LiF foils.

Benton, E. V.↗

Resurrecting minimal Yukawa sector of SUSY SO(10)

Supersymmetric SO(10) models with Yukawa coupling matrices involving only a 10 H and a $\overline{126}$ H of Higgs fields can lead to a predictive and consistent scenario for fermion masses and mixings, including the neutrino sector. However, when coupled minimally to a symmetry breaking sector that includes a 210 H and a 126 H , these models lead either to an unacceptably small neutrino mass scale, or to non-perturbative values of the gauge couplings. Here we show that with the addition of a 54 H to the symmetry breaking sector, the successful predictions of these models for fermion masses and mixings can be maintained. The 54H enables a reduction of the B - L symmetry breaking scale to an intermediate value of order 10 12 GeV, consistent with the observed neutrino mass spectrum, while preserving perturbative gauge coupling unification. We obtain an excellent fit to all fermion masses and mixings in this framework. We analyze carefully the prediction of the model for CP violation in neutrino oscillations. Consistency with proton lifetime, however, requires a mini-split SUSY spectrum with the squarks and sleptons having masses of order 100 TeV, accompanied by TeV scale gauginos and Higgsinos. Such a spectrum may arise from pure gravity mediation, which would predict the partial lifetime for the decay p→$\bar{ν}$K + to be an order of magnitude above the current experimental limit.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Constraints from Airborne (210)Pb Observations on Aerosol Scavenging and Lifetime in a Global Chemical Transport Model

Lead-210 distribution and lifetime in the atmosphere are not sensitive to ice in-cloud scavenging in convective updraft. Ice in-cloud scavenging in stratiform clouds reduce tropospheric (210)Pb lifetime by approximately 1 day and results in better agreements with observed surface observations and aircraft measured profiles. However, the process results in significant underestimate of (210)Pb in UT/LS.

Zhang, Bo↗