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The Redistribution of Uranium Series Radionuclides at Koongarra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

Robert Edis
Robert Edis*
Affiliation:
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights Research Laboratories, PMB 1, MENAI NSW 2234, AUSTRALIA.
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Abstract

The distribution of 238U, 234U, 230Th and 236Ra in rocks from the Koongarra uranium deposit has been examined. Alpha-spectrometry and ICP-MS were used to estimate elements in “accessible” and “inaccessible” phases, separated by a two-phase extraction scheme; and bulk analyses of visibly distinct zones were made using PIXE-PIGME, DNAA and XRF.

The secondary U dispersion fan of the Koongarra site is characterised by 234U/238U, 230Th/234U and 236Ra/230Th activity ratios (ARs) below unity in the extractable (accessible) phases, and above unity in the non-extractable (inaccessible) phases. The patterns of the ARs suggest zones of different U deposition and leaching rates with the most rapid accumulation at the base of weathering, especially at the extremities of the dispersion fan.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 212: Symposium P – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIV , 1990 , 727
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

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References

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