Concentrations of iodine isotopes (129I and 127I) and their isotopic ratios in aerosol samples from Northern Germany

Publication date: April 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 154
Author(s): A. Daraoui, B. Riebe, C. Walther, H. Wershofen, C. Schlosser, C. Vockenhuber, H.-A. Synal
New data about ¹²⁹I, ¹²⁷I 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 ¹²⁹I and by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for ¹²⁷I. The concentrations of ¹²⁷I and ¹²⁹I 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 ¹²⁹I/¹²⁷I isotopic ratios were in the order 10⁻⁸ to 10⁻⁷. The ¹²⁹I 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 ¹³¹I after the Fukushima accident, no contribution of ¹²⁹I from this accident was detectable in Central Europe due to the high background originating from the ¹²⁹I releases of the European reprocessing plants. ¹²⁹I atmospheric activity concentrations were compared with those of an anthropogenic radionuclide (⁸⁵Kr). We did not find any correlation between ¹²⁹I and ⁸⁵Kr, both having nuclear reprocessing plant as the main source.



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