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Science 6 August 1976:
Vol. 193. no. 4252, pp. 488 - 490
DOI: 10.1126/science.941018
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Articles

Science, Vol 193, Issue 4252, 488-490
Copyright © 1976 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Plutonium hazard in respirable dust on the surface of soil

CJ Johnson, RR Tidball, and RC Severson

Plutonium-239 in the fine particulate soil fraction of surface dust is subject to suspension by air currents and is a potential health hazard to humans who may inhale it. This respirable particulate fraction is defined as particles less than or equal to 5 micrometers. The respirable fraction of surface dust was separated by ultrasonic dispersion and a standard water-sedimentation procedure. Plutonium concentration in this fraction of off-site soils located downwind from the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant (Jefferson County, Colorado) were as much as 380 times the background concentration. It is prposed that this method of evaluation defines more precisely the potential health hazard from the respirable fraction of plutonium-contaminated soils.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Cancer Incidence in an Area of Radioactive Fallout Downwind From the Nevada Test Site.
C. J. Johnson (1984)
JAMA 251, 230-236
   Abstract »    PDF »
Size Fractionation Methods: Measuring Plutonium in Respirable Dust.
J. A. Hayden and J. A. HAYDEN (1978)
Science 202, 753-754
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Plutonium Controversy.
C. J. Johnson (1977)
JAMA 237, 2286
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Plutonium Controversy.
H. L. Volchok (1976)
JAMA 236, 2941
   Abstract »    PDF »


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