Temporal record of Pu isotopes in inter-tidal sediments from the northeastern Irish Sea

A depth profile of 239Pu and 240Pu specific activities and isotope ratios was determined in an inter-tidal sediment core from the Esk Estuary in the northeastern Irish Sea. The study site has been impacted with plutonium through routine radionuclide discharges from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria, NW England. A pronounced sub-surface maximum of ~ 10 kBq kg-1 was observed for 239 + 240Pu, corresponding to the peak in Pu discharge from Sellafield in 1973, with a decreasing trend with depth down to ~ 0.04 kBq kg-1 in the deeper layers. The depth profile of 239 + 240Pu specific activities together with results from gamma-ray spectrometry for 137Cs and 241Am was compared with reported releases from the Sellafield plant in order to estimate a reliable sediment chronology. The upper layers (1992 onwards) showed higher 239 + 240Pu specific activities than would be expected from the direct input of annual Sellafield discharges, indicating that the main input of Pu is from the time-integrated contaminated mud patch of the northeastern Irish Sea. The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios ranged from ~ 0.03 in the deepest layers to > 0.20 in the sub-surface layers with an activity-weighted average of 0.181. The decreasing 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio with depth reflects the changing nature of operations at the Sellafield plant from weapons-grade Pu production to reprocessing spent nuclear fuel with higher burn-up times in the late 1950s. In addition, recent annual 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in winkles collected during 2003–2008 from three stations along the Cumbrian coastline showed no significant spatial or temporal differences with an overall average of 0.204, which supports the hypothesis of diluted Pu input from the contaminated mud patch.

► Depth profiles of 239Pu and 240Pu determined in a northeastern Irish Sea sediment.
► Dominant Pu source is the Irish Sea mud patch contaminated by Sellafield discharges.
► Historical Pu isotopic ratios reflect the change of Sellafield operations.
► Contemporary Pu signal characterised by 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios > 0.20.