Determination of depleted uranium in environmental samples by gamma-spectroscopic techniques

Anagnostakis, MJ; Hinis, EP; Karangelos, DJ; Petropoulos, NP; Rouni, PK; Simopoulos, SE; Zunic, ZS

dc.contributor.author	Anagnostakis, MJ	en
dc.contributor.author	Hinis, EP	en
dc.contributor.author	Karangelos, DJ	en
dc.contributor.author	Petropoulos, NP	en
dc.contributor.author	Rouni, PK	en
dc.contributor.author	Simopoulos, SE	en
dc.contributor.author	Zunic, ZS	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:16:23Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:16:23Z
dc.date.issued	2001	en
dc.identifier.issn	03547310	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/14021
dc.relation.uri	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0035717636&partnerID=40&md5=a61f8c608beb8c09ff36483ae811c061	en
dc.relation.uri	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0035717636&partnerID=40&md5=a61f8c608beb8c09ff36483ae811c061	en
dc.subject	Environmental Pollution	en
dc.subject	Gamma	en
dc.subject	Spectrometry	en
dc.subject	Uranium	en
dc.subject	Yugoslavia	en
dc.subject.other	uranium	en
dc.subject.other	article	en
dc.subject.other	chemical engineering	en
dc.subject.other	chemical warfare	en
dc.subject.other	contamination	en
dc.subject.other	dispersion	en
dc.subject.other	dosimetry	en
dc.subject.other	environmental factor	en
dc.subject.other	gamma radiation	en
dc.subject.other	gamma spectrometry	en
dc.subject.other	leaching	en
dc.subject.other	military phenomena	en
dc.subject.other	pollution	en
dc.title	Determination of depleted uranium in environmental samples by gamma-spectroscopic techniques	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.publicationDate	2001	en
heal.abstract	The use of depleted uranium (DU) in military operations causes the contamination of the target area due to DU dispersion in the environment. Since the isotopic abundance of uranium in DU is different than that in nature, the only evidence of DU contamination is the disruption of the natural isotopic abundance of 238U and 235U. For the investigation of the existence of such a disruption, the accurate determination of 235U and 238U is necessary. The Nuclear Engineering Section of the National Technical University of Athens (NES-NTUA) uses high-resolution LEGe detectors and especially developed gamma spectroscopic analysis techniques for the determination of 238U, 235U and subsequently for the isotopic abundance of the uranium isotopes in the sample. 235U is determined from the analysis of the multiplet photopeak at 186 keV. DU may be detected with this technique prowded that the 238U activity of the DU is higher than ∼20% of that of 238U in the natural uranium of the sample. The analyses by NES-NTUA of surface soil samples collected well before the dispersion of depleted uranium in Kosovo, made evident that Kosovo is an area of high natural background, with a pronounced surface soil variation in natural uranium content, and 238U activity reaching values as high as 330 Bqkg-1. It was also observed that disturbance of radioactive equilibrium among the nuclides of the uranium series is quite often observed due to leaching and weathering, with the ratio of the activities of 238U and 226Ra ranging from 0.17 to 5.5. After the military operations in Kosovo, surface soil and vegetation samples as well as DU penetrators were analysed in NES-NTUA. Among the soil samples analysed it was found that some of those collected around a DU penetrator crater were contaminated by DU, with 238U activity exceeding 2 kBqkg-1, and ratio of 238U/226Ra exceeding the value of 10. In these soil samples, the natural isotopic abundance of the uranium isotopes was significantly disrupted; this allowed for an estimation of the isotopic abundance of 235U in the dispersed DU of about 0.2%, which agrees very well with relevant values found in the literature for DU penetrators. DU in the vegetation samples analysed was below detection limit. The analysis of DU penetrators led to the detection 238U, 235U and their daughters, and to an estimation of the dose-rate due to the gamma-rays emitted from the penetrator, which reached 6.5 μSvh-1 on the surface, sloping to background at the distance of about 40 cm.	en
heal.journalName	Archive of Oncology	en
dc.identifier.volume	9	en
dc.identifier.issue	4	en
dc.identifier.spage	231	en
dc.identifier.epage	236	en