Re: Cs-137 (vs. Sr-90) in S. FL soil

[RADPROJECT@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/9/98 12:27:11 PM Eastern Standard Time,
KIRK.WILLIAM@a1.pader.gov writes:

<< I remember getting some Sr-90 deposition  out of one of the UNSCEAR
 res a few years ago. Being a a ft a field office at this time, I can't
 check; but, since Sr-90 data is harder to get than Cs-137 data, I suspect
 that both are there. >>

Interestingly enough, almost all the original measurements made by the AEC's
Health and Safety Lab (HASL) of weapon's test fallout were based on
radiochemistry for Sr-90. From their measurements and reports of Sr-90
deposition isopleths across the northern hemisphere, one can derive the Cs-137
deposition based on the ratio of Cs-137/Sr-90 yield in fission bombs, whether
U-235 or Pu-239 of about 1.6 to 1. This ratio varies only slightly no matter
what the fissionable material.

It was only later [late 1960s, early 1970s] with the advent of high resolution
germanium spectroscopy that Cs-137 in environmental media was measured so
easily vs. Sr-90 by radiochemistry.

Stewart Farber
Public Health Sciences
Phone/FAX: 401 727-4947 
Email: radproject@usa.net



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