AMS analysis of iodine-129 in aerosols from Austria

Atmospheric concentrations of many elements have been significantly increased by human activities. The quantification of these changes and their effect on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is important because of their potentially adverse effects. The human nuclear activities, especially releases from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, are presently the main source of 129I in the environment.In this work, the concentration of 129I and the ratios of 129I/127I in aerosols weekly collected in Vienna, Austria (202 m a.s.l) during the year 2001 are presented. Iodine was extracted from the aerosol filters using a strong basic solution and separated from the matrix elements by anion exchange. The chemical yield of the procedure, determined by ICP-MS, ranges from 70% to 95%. The AMS results indicated that the 129I/127I isotopic ratios were of the order 10−8 to 10−7. The 129I originated from gaseous emissions from the Sellafield reprocessing plant. The measured 129I concentrations were compared with those of 7Be, a cosmogenic radionuclide. Although, both radionuclides exhibit nearly the same distribution pattern (higher levels in summer and lower in winter) their different origins can clearly be deduced from short term variations.