Measurement of uranium isotope ratios in Fukushima-accident contaminated soil samples using multi collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

In the present study, 137Cs and 238U activity concentrations, 234U/238U activity ratio, and 235U/238U isotope ratio were measured in fifteen soil samples collected from the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). The 137Cs activity concentrations of Fukushima-accident contaminated soil samples ranged from 29.9 to 4780 kBq kg−1 with a mean of 2007 kBq kg−1. On the other hand, the 238U activity concentrations of these soil samples ranged from 5.2 to 22.4 Bq kg−1 with a mean of 13.2 Bq kg−1. The activity ratios of 234U/238U ranged from 0.973 to 1.023. The 235U/238U isotope ratios of these exclusion zone soil samples varied from 0.007246 to 0.007260, and they were similar to the natural terrestrial ratio confirming the natural origin. Using isotope dilution technique, the 235U/137Cs activity ratio was theoretically estimated for highly 137Cs contaminated soil samples from Fukushima exclusion zone ranged from 5.01 × 10−8 - 6.16 × 10−7 with a mean value of 2.51 × 10−7.