129I in rainwater across Argentina

Agustín Negri; Andrés Arazi; María Elena Barlasina; Jorge Fernández Niello; Leslie Keith Fifield; Michaela B Froehlich; Diego Martínez Heimann; Stefan Pavetich; Steve G Tims; Anton Wallner

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106871

¹²⁹I in rainwater across Argentina

J Environ Radioact. 2022 Jul:248:106871. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106871. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Affiliations

¹ Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, 25 de Mayo y Francia (B1650BWA), San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Godoy Cruz 2290 (C1425FQB), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: agustin_negri@yahoo.com.
² Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Godoy Cruz 2290 (C1425FQB), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Laboratorio TANDAR, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Gral. Paz 1499 (B1650KNA), San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: arazi@tandar.cnea.gov.ar.
³ Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Av. Dorrego 4019 (C1425GBE), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: barlasina@smn.gov.ar.
⁴ Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, 25 de Mayo y Francia (B1650BWA), San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Godoy Cruz 2290 (C1425FQB), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Laboratorio TANDAR, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Gral. Paz 1499 (B1650KNA), San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: fniello@tandar.cnea.gov.ar.
⁵ Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 57 Garran Road, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia. Electronic address: keith.fifield@anu.edu.au.
⁶ Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 57 Garran Road, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia. Electronic address: michaela.froehlich@anu.edu.au.
⁷ Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, 25 de Mayo y Francia (B1650BWA), San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Godoy Cruz 2290 (C1425FQB), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: diegoheimann@gmail.com.
⁸ Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 57 Garran Road, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia. Electronic address: stefan.pavetich@anu.edu.au.
⁹ Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 57 Garran Road, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia. Electronic address: steve.tims@anu.edu.au.
¹⁰ Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 57 Garran Road, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia. Electronic address: anton.wallner@anu.edu.au.

PMID: 35421636
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106871

Abstract

Concentrations of ¹²⁷I and ¹²⁹I in rainwater samples from several stations across Argentina (latitudes between 25° S and 55° S) were measured and analyzed for the assessment of distribution patterns and potential sources of ¹²⁹I in the Southern Hemisphere. Measured ¹²⁹I levels, clearly above those explainable by natural background and atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, can be understood by the injection into the Southern Hemisphere of ¹²⁹I that had been discharged from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants in the Northern Hemisphere.

Keywords: Accelerator mass spectrometry; Interhemispheric air transport; Iodine-129; Radiotracer.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants, Radioactive* / analysis
Argentina
Iodine Radioisotopes / analysis
Radiation Monitoring*

Substances

Air Pollutants, Radioactive
Iodine Radioisotopes
Iodine-129