ISOLATION OF PLUTONIUM-BEARING PARTICLES
FROM THE TEST SITE
M.
W.
Nathans and E.
Francisco
LFE Environmental Analysis Laboratories
Richmond, California
ABSTRACT
One hundred plutonium-bearing particles have been isolated from surfacesoil samples obtained from two locations each around five shot sites.
These particles are analyzed by other laboratories by means of an electron
microprobe, an ion microprobe, a scanning electron microscope, and by
mass spectrometry.
In this paper, the method of isolation is discussed
and some observations with regard to the particles isolated are presented.
INTRODUCTION
The isolation of 100 plutonium-bearing fallout particles from the
Nevada Test Site was undertaken by our laboratory last summer at the
request of M. G. White, of ERDA's Nevada Operations Office.
The purpose
of this particle isolation project is to provide W. Efurd, of McClellan
Central Laboratory of the U.S. Air Force, and L. Dietz, of Knolls Atomic
Power Laboratory, with individual particles for analysis by scanning
electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, electron microprobe analysis,
and ion microprobe analysis.
At the completion of the project, each of
the two laboratories will have analyzed 50 particles.
The results of
Soil samples were received from five different sites,
two samples from
the analyses will be reported by the two laboratories independently.
each site, for a total of 10 samples.
The two samples from each site
were such that one sample was obtained from a location about 100 feet
from Ground Zero on the hot line, and the other sample from a location
about 500 feet from Ground Zero on the hot line.
Special samples were
obtained by REECo personnel by careful scooping up of about 1 centimeter
of topsoil.
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