ABSTRACT
Samples of ash from the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens were collected from several locations in eastern Washington and Montana. The ash was subjected to a variety of analyses to determine its chemical, physical, mineralogical, and biological characteristics. Chemically, the ash samples were of dacitic composition. Particle size data showed bimodal distributions and differed considerably with location. However, all samples contained comparable amounts of particles less than 3.5 micrometers in diameter (respirable fraction). Mineralogically, the samples ranged from almost totally glassy to almost totally crystalline. Crystalline samples were dominated by plagioclase feldspar (andesine) and orthopyroxene (hypersthene), with smaller amounts of titanomagnetite and hornblende. All but one of the samples contained from less than 1 percent to 3 percent free crystalline silica (quartz, trydimite, or cristobalite) in both the bulk samples and 1 to 2 percent in the fractions smaller than 3.5 micrometers. The long-lived natural radionuclide content of the ash was comparable to that of crustal material; however, relatively large concentrations of short-lived radon daughters were present and polonium-210 content was inversely correlated with particle size. In vitro biological tests showed the ash to be nontoxic to alveolar macrophages, which are an important part of the lungs' natural clearance mechanism. On the basis of a substantial body of data that has shown a correlation between macrophage cytotoxicity and fibrogenicity of minerals, the ash is not predicted to be highly fibrogenic.
ABSTRACT
The (7)Be, (22)Na, (26)Al, (44)Ti, (46)SC, (48)V (51)Cr, (54)Mn, (56)Co, (57)Co, (57)CO, (40)K, (238)U, and (232)Th were measured in lunar fines and portions of three rocks. Major production of cosmogenic radionuclides is due to solar protons, thus their concentrations are far different than those in meteorites. Surface exposures of the rocks and fines are long compared with the 0.74 million year half-life of (26)Al. Lunar fines show substantially higher concentrations of low energy reaction products. The ratios of thorium to uranium are extremely constant at 3.8, which indicates very little geochemical differentiation and are in good agreement with a common nucleosynthesis for lunar and earth materials.
ABSTRACT
The concentrations of beryllium-7, sodium-22, aluminum-26, potassium-40, scandium-46, vanadium-48, chromium-51, manganese-54, cobalt-57, cobalt-60, and thorium-232 (thallium-208) have been measured in the Allende meteorite by nondestructive gamma-ray spectrometry. The high cobalt-60 content of the meteorite is indicative of a preatmospheric body with a minimum effective radius of 50 centimeters and a weight of 1650 kilograms; the aluminum-26 activity indicates a minimum exposure age of 3 million years.
Subject(s)
Air Pollution, Radioactive/analysis , Alaska , Brazil , France , Washington , West IndiesSubject(s)
Lung/analysis , Trace Elements/analysis , Activation Analysis , Colorado , England , Environmental Exposure , Humans , Thorium/analysis , Uranium/analysis , WashingtonABSTRACT
Concentration of the radio nuclide beryllium-7, produced by cosmic rays, was measured in waters collected from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This short-lived nuclide is well suited as a tracer for interactions at the air-sea interface and for the measurement of rapid mixing processes in the surface layer of the ocean.
Subject(s)
Beryllium/analysis , Oceanography , Radioisotopes/analysis , Water/analysis , United StatesSubject(s)
Americium/metabolism , Liver/metabolism , Lung/metabolism , Lymph Nodes/metabolism , Plutonium/metabolism , Aerosols , Animals , Dogs , Liver/analysis , Lung/analysis , Lymph Nodes/analysis , Oxides , RadiometryABSTRACT
Through recent developments in instrumental analysis it is now possible to measure with good precision the rainwater concentrations of five short-lived radionuclides which are produced by cosmic ray spallation of atmospheric argon. These measurements provide a method for studying the in-cloud nucleation times and aerosol scavenging efficiencies, and promise to provide information onshort-term processes which occur in rain and snow formation.
Subject(s)
Iodides/analysis , Iodine Isotopes , Nuclear Energy , Chromatography, Gas , Nuclear Reactors , Spectrum AnalysisSubject(s)
Food Contamination, Radioactive , Plants , Water Pollution, Radioactive , Oregon , WashingtonABSTRACT
Uranium and thorium daughters are ten times more concentrated in thyroids from some bovine animals than in the teeth of the same animals. These radioactive isotopes are believed to be from natural sources, but their resulting annual dosage of thyroid radiation has exceeded that from iodine-131 fallout.
