ABSTRACT
Radionuclides from natural sources are ubiquitous in all materials on Earth. Man-made artificial radionuclides have spread around the globe since their first production in the 1940s. Together they encompass a wide range of elements with differing chemistries and consequently differing environmental
Introduction .......................................................................................................... 15 Sources of Radionuclides ............................................................................16 Inputs to the Terrestrial and Marine Environments ............................. 17
Environmental Chemistry of Important Radionuclides ................................ 17 Natural Radionuclides ............................................................................... 17
Radium Isotopes and 222Rn .......................................................... 17 210Pb ................................................................................................. 20
Artificial Radionuclides ............................................................................. 20 Fission and Activation Products ................................................. 20 Transuranic Radionuclides .......................................................... 21
Application of Radionuclides for Tracing and Dating .................................... 22 Theory of Application and Analysis ........................................................ 22 Particulate Measurements ......................................................................... 22 Dissolved Measurements ........................................................................... 23
Case Studies .......................................................................................................... 25 Reprocessing Radionuclides as Tracers and for Dating ........................ 27
137Cs and 99Tc as Water Mass Tracers ......................................... 27 237Np as a Tracer of Reprocessed Uranium ................................ 28
Radium and Radon in Groundwater Studies ......................................... 28 Radium ............................................................................................ 29 Radon .............................................................................................. 29
210Pb and Multi-Isotope Sediment Dating .............................................. 30 Current and Future Roles for Radionuclides in Environmental
Forensics .......................................................................................................31 References .............................................................................................................. 33
behaviour. This, coupled with the fact that each radionuclide decays at a known rate, means they offer powerful tools to trace and date environmental processes and identify when and where releases occurred. These features mean that radionuclides can, in certain situations, provide some key information in the field of environmental forensics. A clear understanding is required of when radionuclides can provide information and what the limitations are on these methods.
