Nuclear spectroscopy and electron microprobe study of a Ba hot particle originating from the Chernobyl accident

A Ba-Sr hot particle released during the Chernobyl accident has been studied by electron microprobe analysis and alpha, beta and gamma spectroscopy. The Ba-Sr hot particle proved in terms of mass to be a Zr hot particle. It has been concluded that the Zr has a nuclear origin through the chain Br-Kr-Rb-Sr-Y-Zr. The estimated specific activity is approximately 1.8 ± 0.5 Bq.μm-3 which is comparable to the estimated activity of ∼ 1 Bq.μm-3 of the UO2 hot particles. The conclusions with reference to the risk when such a particle is inhaled is that the risk of a Ba-Sr-Zr hot particle is not greater than the risk due to standard UO2 hot particles. (author)