Radionuclide particles

Nickel compounds Opisthorchis viverrini Oral contraceptives Radionuclides a-particle emitting Radionuclides / -particle emitting Radon... 

As discussed already, radiopharmaceuticals are exposed to stability problems, particularly when radiolabeled compounds are involved. Decomposition of labeled compounds by radiolysis depends on the specific activity of the radioactive material, the energy of the emitted radiation, and the half-life of the radionuclide. Particles, such as a and p radiation, are more damaging than y rays, due to their short range and local absorption in matter. The stability of a compound is time dependent on exposure to light, change in temperature, and radiolysis. The longer a compound is exposed to these conditions, the more it will tend to break down. 

The phoretic processes, thermophoresis and diffusiophoresis, are the deposition processes likely to be susceptible to manipulation by accident management measures. They are of particular interest because unlike many aerosol processes, the phoretic processes are relatively insensitive to aerosol particle size, which will not be known well for the design of accident management strategies. Thermophoresis is the tendency for aerosol particles to move from the hot gas toward a cool surface. The rate of particle deposition is proportional to the gradient in the temperature from the gas to the surface. Accident management efforts that increase this gradient will increase thermophoretic deposition of radionuclide particles in the reactor coolant system. 

For a radionuclide to be an effective oceanic tracer, various criteria that link the tracer to a specihc process or element must be met. Foremost, the environmental behavior of the tracer must closely match that of the target constituent. Particle affinity, or the scavenging capability of a radionuclide to an organic or inorganic surface site i.e. distribution coefficient, Kf, is one such vital characteristic. The half-life of a tracer is another characteristic that must also coincide well with the timescale of interest. This section provides a brief review of the role of various surface sites in relation to chemical scavenging and tracer applications. 

Nuclear activation analysis (NAA) is a method for qualitatively and quantitatively detg elemental compn by means of nuclear transmutations. The method involves the irradiation or bombardment of samples with nuclear particles or high-energy electromagnetic radiation for the specific purpose of creating radioactive isotopes from the stable or naturally-occurring elements present. From the numbers, types and quantities of radioactive elements or radionuclides, it is possible to deduce information about the elemental compn of the original sample... 

This equation has been used for estimating migration velocities of radionuclides (e.g. 66). Here Pr is the density of the rock (kg/m3), p the density of water, e the fissure porosity, af the specific surface of fissures in the bedrock (m2/m3) and ap the specific surface of particles used in the Kd determinations (m2/m3). The distribution coefficient Kd represents ar. equilibrium value for the particular rock under the pertinent conditions. 

Radioactive particle tracking (RPT) can be used to map the velocity field by tracking the position of a single radioactive tracer particle in a reactor. The particle which may consist of a polypropylene shell contains a radionuclide that emits y-rays. 

Cochran JK, Masque P (2003) Short-lived U/Th-series radionuclides in the ocean tracers for scavenging rates, export fluxes and particle dynamics. Rev Mineral Geochem 52 461-492 Cohen AS, O Nions RK (1991) Precise determination of femtogram quantities of radium by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Anal Chem 63 2705-2708 Cohen AS, Belshaw NS, O Nions RK (1992) High precision uranium, thorium, and radium isotope ratio measurements by high dynamic range thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Inti J Mass Spectrom Ion Processes 116 71-81... 

The short4ived particle reactive radionuclides of the U/Th series also have enormous potential for tracking particle source and transport in ocean margins. Mass balances comparing inventories in sediments with supply can be used to determine import or export of particles to an area. Such approaches are increasingly important in understanding the fates of particle-reactive contaminants whose sources are often enhanced in the coastal ocean. Studies of especially when supplemented by other... 

Heussner S, Cherry RD, Heyraud M (1990) Po-210 and Pb-210 in sediment trap particles on a Mediterranean continental margin. Cont. Shelf Res 10 989-100 Heyraud M, Cherry RD (1983) Correlation of Po-210 and Pb-210 enrichments in the sea-surface microlayer with neuston biomass. Cont Shelf Res 1 283-293 Honeyman BD, Santschi PH (1989)The role of particles and colloids in the transport of radionuclides and trace metals in the oceans. In Environmental particles. Buffle J, van Leewen HP (eds) Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, p 379-423... 

Simpson HJ, Trier RM, Toggweiler JR, Mathieu G, Deck BL, Olsen CR, Hammond DE, Fuller C, Ku TL (1982) Radionuclides in Mono Lake, California. Science 216 512-514 Smith CR, Berelson W, Demaster DJ, Dobbs FC, Hammond D, Hoover DJ, Pope RH, Stephens M (1997) Latitudinal variations in benthic processes in the abyssal equatorial Pacific control by biogenic particle flux. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Topical Studies in Oceanography 44(9-10) 2295 Smith CR, Pope RH, Demaster DJ, Magaard L (1993) Age-dependent mixing of deep-sea sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 57(7) 1473-1488... 

Figure 2. Simplified box model depicting the dominant input and removal functions for a particle reactive radionuclide such as in a well-mixed estuarine system.

Americium released to the atmosphere will be associated with particulate matter and will be deposited on land or surface water by dry deposition or wet deposition (Essien et al. 1985). Dry deposition results from gravitational settling and impaction on surfaces, and wet deposition returns americium to earth in precipitation. Radionuclides resulting from atmospheric weapons tests are often injected into the lower stratosphere, while other atmospheric releases are into the troposphere. The residence time of particles in the atmosphere will depend on the altitude, latitude, season, and hemisphere because of atmospheric... 

The reactor accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 released radionuclides into the atmosphere, mostly between April 26 and May 6. Estimates of quantities released are based on observations of deposition within 30 km of the reactor. Releases in this area were predominantly highly irradiated fuel particles. It is estimated that the discharge of 241Pu through May 6, 1986 was 5,200 TBq (140 kCi), which amounted to 3% of the reactor content of this radionuclide (Askbrant et al. 1996 Pattenden and McKay 1994). The material was released mainly in the lower troposphere. 

---