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Future migration: key environmental indicators of Pu accumulation in terrestrial sediments of Queensland, Australia

Plutonium (Pu) interactions in the environment are highly complex. Site-specific variables play an integral role in determining the chemical and physical form of Pu, and its migration, bioavailability, and immobility. This paper aims to identify the key variables that can be used to highlight regions of radioecological sensitivity and guide remediation strategies in Australia. Plutonium is present in the Australian environment as a result of global fallout and the British nuclear testing program of 1952 – 1958 in central and west Australia (Maralinga and Monte Bello islands). We report the first systematic measurements of 239+240Pu and 238Pu activity concentrations in distal (≥1,000 km from test sites) catchment outlet sediments from Queensland, Australia. The average 239+240Pu activity concentration was 0.29 mBq.g -1 (n = 73 samples) with a maximum of 4.88 mBq.g -1. 238Pu/239+240Pu isotope ratios identified a large range (0.02 – 0.29 (RSD: 74%)) which is congruent with the heterogeneous nuclear material used for the British nuclear testing programme at Maralinga and Montebello Islands. The use of a modified PCA relying on non-linear distance correlation (dCorr) provided broader insight into the impact of environmental variables on the transport and migration of Pu in this soil system. Primary key environmental indicators of Pu presence were determined to be actinide/lanthanide/heavier transition metals, elevation, electrical conductivity (EC), CaO, SiO2, SO3, landform, geomorphology, land use, and climate explaining 81.7% of the variance of the system. Overall this highlighted that trace level Pu accumulations are associated with the coarse, refractive components of Australian soils, and are more likely regulated by the climate of the region and overall soil type.


<b>Citation:</b> Megan Cook, Patrice de Caritat, Ross Kleinschmidt, Joёl Brugger, Vanessa NL. Wong, Future migration: Key environmental indicators of Pu accumulation in terrestrial sediments of Queensland, Australia,<i> Journal of Environmental Radioactivity</i>, Volumes 223–224, 2020, 106398,ISSN 0265-931X,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2020.106398

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Identification info

Date (Creation)
2020-03
Date (Publication)
2023-10-26T23:00:03
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/135137

Identifier

Codespace

Digital Object Identifier

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Author

Cook, M.

Author

de Caritat, P.

Author

Kleinschmidt, R.

Author

Brugger, J.

Author

Wong, V.

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

External Contact
Name

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Issue identification

Volumes 223–224, November 2020

Page

106398

Purpose

Manuscript for external publication in Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Status
Completed
Point of contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
Point of contact

Main, P.

MEG Internal Contact
Resource provider

Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division

External Contact
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Topic category
  • Geoscientific information

Extent

Temporal extent

Time period
2007-07-01 2011-06-30

Extent

N
S
E
W


Maintenance and update frequency
As needed

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Title

Product data repository: Various Formats

Website

Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
  • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

  • Environmental Impact Assessment

  • EARTH SCIENCES

  • Isotope Geochemistry

  • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT

  • SOIL SCIENCES

  • Soil Chemistry (excl. Carbon Sequestration Science)

Keywords
  • plutonium

Keywords
  • sediment

Keywords
  • principal component analysis

Keywords
  • distance corelation

Keywords
  • Published_External

Resource constraints

Title

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Alternate title

CC-BY

Edition

4.0

Website

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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License
Other constraints

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Resource constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

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Distributor

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice facsimile
OnLine resource

Link to Journal

Link to Journal

Distribution format

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Statement

Manuscript for external publication in Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Source
  • National Geochemical Survey of Australia: Plutonium Isotopes Dataset
  • National Geochemical Survey of Australia: The Geochemical Atlas of Australia: Dataset

Metadata constraints

Title

Australian Government Security Classification System

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/80d8128c-25e2-4576-a045-51ea54906eb6

Title

GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
Contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
Owner

Main, P.

MEG Internal Contact
Point of contact

Main, P.

MEG Internal Contact

Type of resource

Resource scope
Document
Name

Journal Articles and Conference Papers

Alternative metadata reference

Title

Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

Citation identifier
eCatId/135137

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/5167d912-6784-4371-9938-3931e84ca6f1

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/80d8128c-25e2-4576-a045-51ea54906eb6

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au:80/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/80d8128c-25e2-4576-a045-51ea54906eb6

Date info (Creation)
2019-04-08T01:55:29
Date info (Revision)
2019-04-08T01:55:29

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W


Keywords

distance corelation plutonium principal component analysis sediment
theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
EARTH SCIENCES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Environmental Impact Assessment Isotope Geochemistry SOIL SCIENCES Soil Chemistry (excl. Carbon Sequestration Science)

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