The Environmental Behaviour of Polonium
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technical reportS series no. 484 Technical Reports SeriEs No. 484 The Environmental Behaviour of Polonium F. Carvalho, S. Fernandes, S. Fesenko, E. Holm, B. Howard, The Environmental Behaviour of Polonium P. Martin, M. Phaneuf, D. Porcelli, G. Pröhl, J. Twining @ THE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR OF POLONIUM The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GEORGIA OMAN ALBANIA GERMANY PAKISTAN ALGERIA GHANA PALAU ANGOLA GREECE PANAMA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA GUATEMALA PAPUA NEW GUINEA ARGENTINA GUYANA PARAGUAY ARMENIA HAITI PERU AUSTRALIA HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES AUSTRIA HONDURAS POLAND AZERBAIJAN HUNGARY PORTUGAL BAHAMAS ICELAND QATAR BAHRAIN INDIA REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BANGLADESH INDONESIA ROMANIA BARBADOS IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION BELARUS IRAQ RWANDA BELGIUM IRELAND SAN MARINO BELIZE ISRAEL SAUDI ARABIA BENIN ITALY SENEGAL BOLIVIA, PLURINATIONAL JAMAICA SERBIA STATE OF JAPAN SEYCHELLES BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JORDAN SIERRA LEONE BOTSWANA KAZAKHSTAN SINGAPORE BRAZIL KENYA SLOVAKIA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA BULGARIA KUWAIT SOUTH AFRICA BURKINA FASO KYRGYZSTAN SPAIN BURUNDI LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC SRI LANKA CAMBODIA REPUBLIC SUDAN CAMEROON LATVIA SWAZILAND CANADA LEBANON SWEDEN CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SWITZERLAND REPUBLIC LIBERIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC CHAD LIBYA TAJIKISTAN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN THAILAND CHINA LITHUANIA THE FORMER YUGOSLAV COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CONGO MADAGASCAR TOGO COSTA RICA MALAWI TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA TUNISIA CROATIA MALI TURKEY CUBA MALTA TURKMENISTAN CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA UKRAINE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OF THE CONGO MEXICO UNITED KINGDOM OF DENMARK MONACO GREAT BRITAIN AND DJIBOUTI MONGOLIA NORTHERN IRELAND DOMINICA MONTENEGRO UNITED REPUBLIC DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MOROCCO OF TANZANIA ECUADOR MOZAMBIQUE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA EGYPT MYANMAR URUGUAY EL SALVADOR NAMIBIA UZBEKISTAN ERITREA NEPAL VANUATU ESTONIA NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA, BOLIVARIAN ETHIOPIA NEW ZEALAND REPUBLIC OF FIJI NICARAGUA VIET NAM FINLAND NIGER YEMEN FRANCE NIGERIA ZAMBIA GABON NORWAY ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No. 484 THE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR OF POLONIUM F. CARVALHO, S. FERNANDES, S. FESENKO, E. HOLM, B. HOWARD, P. MARTIN, M. PHANEUF, D. PORCELLI, G. PRÖHL, J. TWINING INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2017 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books © IAEA, 2017 Printed by the IAEA in Austria November 2017 STI/DOC/010/484 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Names: International Atomic Energy Agency. Title: The environmental behaviour of polonium / International Atomic Energy Agency. Description: Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2017. | Series: Technical reports series (International Atomic Energy Agency), ISSN 0074–1914 ; no. 484 | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: IAEAL 17-01115 | ISBN 978–92–0–112116–5 (paperback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Radioecology. | Radioactive pollution. | Polonium. Classification: UDC 539.163 | STI/DOC/010/484 FOREWORD Polonium-210 is the main contributor to internal doses due to ingestion of radionuclides from the uranium and thorium decay series. With the expected increase in uranium mining and other industries generating naturally occurring radioactive material residues in the future, it is likely that the radiological impact of 210Po will increase in importance. The IAEA attaches great importance to the dissemination of information that can assist Member States with the implementation and improvement of activities relating to radiation safety, including the management of radioactive residues containing natural radionuclides. This publication outlines the behaviour of polonium in air, water and soil, and in the human body. The primary objective is to provide information that can be used in radiological assessments of accidental releases and routine discharges of polonium to the environment. Case studies and environmental applications of polonium isotopes are also presented. The IAEA wishes to express its appreciation of the work of all the contributors to the drafting and review of this publication. The IAEA officers responsible for this publication were S. Fesenko and M. Phaneuf of the IAEA Environment Laboratories. EDITORIAL NOTE Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from its use. This publication does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person. Guidance provided here, describing good practices, represents expert opinion but does not constitute recommendations made on the basis of a consensus of Member States. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The IAEA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third party Internet web sites referred to in this book and does not guarantee that any content on such web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .............................. 1 1.1. Background ......................................... 1 1.2. Objective ........................................... 2 1.3. Scope .............................................. 2 1.4. Structure............................................ 3 References to Chapter 1 .................................... 3 CHAPTER 2. RADIOECOLOGY: BASIC DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS ................................... 5 2.1. Basic parameters ..................................... 5 2.2. Classifications of plants and animals used for exposure assessment models.................................... 7 2.2.1. Transfer to human foodstuffs ...................... 7 2.2.2. Transfer to wildlife: Reference organism concept ...... 9 References to Chapter 2 .................................... 13 CHAPTER 3. PROPERTIES OF POLONIUM.................... 15 3.1. Physical properties.................................... 15 3.1.1. Isotopes....................................... 15 3.1.2. Decay series systematics.......................... 15 3.2. Chemical properties................................... 22 3.2.1. Solution chemistry .............................. 23 3.2.2. Adsorption .................................... 25 3.2.3. Biovolatilization ................................ 27 3.3. 210Po determination ................................... 27 References to Chapter 3 .................................... 31 CHAPTER 4. OCCURRENCE AND CYCLING OF 210Pb AND 210Po IN THE ENVIRONMENT ........................ 35 4.1. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in rock and soil . 35 4.2. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in the atmosphere ............ 38 4.3. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in terrestrial ecosystems ....... 40 4.3.1. 210Pb and 210Po in plants .......................... 40 4.3.2. 210Pb and 210Po in animals......................... 42 4.4. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in marine ecosystems ......... 43 4.4.1. 210Pb and 210Po in marine water .................... 43 4.4.2. 210Pb and 210Po in marine organisms................. 44 4.5. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in freshwater ecosystems ...... 44 4.5.1. 210Pb and 210Po in groundwater..................... 44 4.5.2. 210Pb and 210Po in surface water and sediments ........ 45 4.5.3. 210Pb and 210Po in freshwater organisms.............. 46 4.6. Occurrence of 210Pb and 210Po in food (including seafood) and drinking water.................................... 46 4.7. Anthropogenic sources of 210Po in the environment .......... 51 4.7.1. Industrial uses of human-made 210Po ................ 51 4.7.2. Environmental release of naturally occurring radioactive material.............................. 52 4.8. Summary ..........................................