Determination of Pu isotopes and 241Am in a reference fallout material using SF-ICP-MS

This paper reports on the characterisation of activities of Pu and 241Am, and Pu isotopic composition in a reference fallout material prepared by the Meteorological Research Inst. (MRI) (Japan), from samples collected at 14 stations throughout Japan in 19631979. The acid leaching and total digestion were used to compare whether there is difference in Pu and 241Am activities and Pu isotopic composition between these two methods. The results of activities of 239+240Pu and 241Pu, and Pu isotopic composition have been reported in the previous work (Sci. Total Environ. 2010, 408, 1139-1144). In this study, the 241Am activity and 241Am/239+240Pu activity ratio in the reference fallout material are reported, and the usefulness of Pu atom ratios and 241Am/239+240Pu activity ratio for source identification is discussed. (authors)