|
1
|
Johnson C, Aalseth CE, Alexander TR, Bowyer TW, Chipman V, Day AR, Drellack S, Fast JE, Fritz BG, Hayes JC, Huckins-Gang HE, Humble P, Kirkham RR, Lowrey JD, Mace EK, Mayer MF, McIntyre JI, Milbrath BD, Panisko ME, Paul MJ, Obi CM, Okagawa RK, Olsen KB, Ripplinger MD, Seifert A, Suarez R, Thomle J, Townsend MJ, Woods VT, Zhong L. Migration of noble gas tracers at the site of an underground nuclear explosion at the Nevada National Security Site. J Environ Radioact 2019; 208-209:106047. [PMID: 31526956 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
As part of an underground gas migration study, two radioactive noble gases (37Ar and 127Xe) and two stable tracer gases (SF6 and PFDMCH) were injected into a historic nuclear explosion test chimney and allowed to migrate naturally. The purpose of this experiment was to provide a bounding case (natural transport) for the flow of radioactive noble gases following an underground nuclear explosion. To accomplish this, soil gas samples were collected from a series of boreholes and a range of depths from the shallow subsurface (3 m) to deeper levels (~160 m) over a period of eleven months. These samples have provided insights into the development and evolution of the subsurface plume and constrained the relative migration rates of the radioactive and stable gas species in the case when the driving pressure from the cavity is low. Analysis of the samples concluded that the stable tracer SF6 was consistently enriched in the subsurface samples relative to the radiotracer 127Xe, but the ratios of SF6 and 37Ar remained similar throughout the samples.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Johnson
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
| | - C E Aalseth
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - T R Alexander
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - T W Bowyer
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - V Chipman
- Mission Support and Test Services LLC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - A R Day
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - S Drellack
- Mission Support and Test Services LLC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - J E Fast
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - B G Fritz
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - J C Hayes
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | | | - P Humble
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - R R Kirkham
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - J D Lowrey
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - E K Mace
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - M F Mayer
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - J I McIntyre
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - B D Milbrath
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - M E Panisko
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - M J Paul
- Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - C M Obi
- Mission Support and Test Services LLC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - R K Okagawa
- Mission Support and Test Services LLC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - K B Olsen
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - M D Ripplinger
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - A Seifert
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - R Suarez
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - J Thomle
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - M J Townsend
- Mission Support and Test Services LLC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - V T Woods
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - L Zhong
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
|
2
|
Gohla H, Auer M, Cassette P, Hague RK, Lechermann M, Nadalut B. Radioxenon standards used in laboratory inter-comparisons. Appl Radiat Isot 2015; 109:24-29. [PMID: 26682890 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Preparation methods for (133)Xe standards of activity concentration and the results of the 2014 (133)Xe laboratory inter-comparison exercise are described. One element of the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program for laboratories of the International Monitoring System (IMS) will be regular inter-comparison exercises. However, until recently, no activity concentration standards for benchmarking were available. Therefore, two (133)Xe activity concentration reference standards were produced independently by Idaho National Laboratory and Seibersdorf Laboratories and used for the 2014 laboratory inter-comparison exercise. The preparation of a complementary (127)Xe activity concentration standard as well as a (127)Xe laboratory inter-comparison exercise suggests (127)Xe as a suitable isotope for QA/QC of remote IMS noble gas stations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- H Gohla
- CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Austria.
| | - M Auer
- CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Austria
| | - Ph Cassette
- Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel, France
| | - R K Hague
- Idaho National Laboratory, United States
| | | | - B Nadalut
- CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Austria
| |
Collapse
|