CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LOCAL AND STRATOSPHERIC PLUTONIUM IN OHIO SOILS

The chemical nature of plutonium derived from stratospheric fallout and industrial sources was studied in three agriculture Soils. The majority of the soil plutonium was associated with a reductant-soluble, hydrous oxide phase that, under most conditions of terrestrial ecosystems, remains essentially immobile. The proportion of plutonium associated with organic matter (0.1 N NaOH-extractable) varied among soils, and increased with decreasing particle size in the same soil. In a soil containing238Pu from a local fabrication facility and239.240Pu from stratospheric fallout, isotopic ratios between the NaOH-extractable and residual phases were essentially constant, indicating that, in these soils, plutonium from both sources behaves similarly. The distribution of soil plotonium with particles size appears to be most directly related to the mass of the soil particle. © 1978 The Williams & Wilkins Co.