Plutonium Distribution in Rocky Flats Soil

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Abstract
Pu concentrations in Rocky Flats [Colorado, USA] soil were inversely proportional to distance from Pu source, depth of sample and particle size of sieved soil samples. Coefficients of variation ranged to more than 300%, and frequency distributions of Pu concentrations in samples were highly skewed. The Pu distribution patterns and known characteristics of the Pu source indicated that the mechanisms of environmental disperson may have involved the attachment of Pu oxide to soil particles; primary dissemination of contaminant from the source by wind; and weathering, microdispersal and penetration into soil of deposited particles. The high degree of spatial variability, in particular, suggested that the most common functional form of the contaminated soil during dissemination was probably an agglomerated particle containing many Pu oxide and soil particles bound together.

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