Authors : M. Yamamoto, K. Shiraishi, I. P. Los, I. Y. Kamarikov, M. G. Buzinny
DOI : 10.1007/bf02162723
Volume : 201
Issue : 6
Year : 1995
Page No : 459-468
As a preliminary survey to establish intake of α-emitting nuclides, in particular239,240Pu, from a daily diet for inhabitants living near the Chernobyl reactor site, some kinds of food samples including total diet samples were collected in the Chernobyl (Ukraine) area and in the Ibaraki prefecture (Japan). Plutonium-239 and 240 were determined together with naturally occurring α-emitters226Ra and U isotopes (234U,235U and238U) by α-spectrometry after chemical separation. In most of the samples studied,239,240Pu was less than the detectable amount, but in some mushrooms from the Ukraine it was found to be 41.6 mBq kg−1 (wet mass) with a high activity ratio(0.58±0.08) of238Pu/239,240Pu, indicating that nearly 100% of the239,240Pu was attributable to the accident. Concentrations of226Ra and238U varied largely, depending on the samples. The measured activity ratios of235U/238U for some samples showed the isotopic composition of natural uranium.