129I is a long-life (15.7 × 106 years) radionuclide with a great potential as environmental tracer. Even though its presence in the environment has increased strongly since the beginning of the nuclear age, the only technique able to detect 129I levels in zones not directly affected by artificial sources is Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Thus, data in the different compartments are still scarce, and its behaviour in the environment is still not well known.
In this work we present results on the concentration of 129I in a sediment core from Tinto River in Huelva, Southwestern Spain. 129I concentration has been measured in 44 samples from the core down to 73 cm depth. Results show a difference of two orders of magnitude between deep and shallower samples, most probably due to the effect of the gaseous emissions of the nuclear fuel reprocessing plants from Sellafield and La Hague. An intermediate peak is also present whose origin is not clear. Deeper values could be representative of prenuclear 129I concentration in sediments in the area.
See more of Poster Session I
See more of The 10th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (September 5-10, 2005)