Long-range tropospheric transport of uranium and plutonium weapons fallout from Semipalatinsk nuclear test site to Norway.

A combination of state-of-the-art isotopic fingerprinting techniques and atmospheric transport modelling using real-time historical meteorological data has been used to demonstrate direct tropospheric transport of radioactive debris from specific nuclear detonations at the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan to Norway via large areas of Europe. A selection of archived air filters collected at ground level at 9 stations in Norway during the most intensive atmospheric nuclear weapon testing periods (1957-1958 and 1961-1962) has been screened for radioactive particles and analysed with respect to the concentrations and atom ratios of plutonium (Pu) and uranium (U) using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Digital autoradiography screening demonstrated the presence of radioactive particles in the filters.

The sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets and its effects on the environment.

This paper discusses the possible release mechanisms for radionuclides on board the sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets. With an aim to determine whether or not the sunken submarine presents any significant hazards to man, a worst-case approach is taken in estimating the environmental effects of the released radionuclides. It is found that neither the submarine hull nor the reactor vessel will be destroyed by corrosion for at least 1000 years.