Department of Earth Sciences Seminar Series

1. Department of Earth Sciences Seminar Series "The presence of long-lived radioiodine in the environment around a decommissioned nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Western New York". Dr. Usha Rao, Associate Professor of ChemistryMcNulty Scholars Program CoordinatorSaint Joseph's UniversityPhiladelphia, PA 19131 Where: Caputo 210; Armstrong Auditorium When: 4:00 PM social in the Caputo Lobby 4:30 PM Seminar Begins Abstract The long-lived radioisotope of iodine, 129I (T1/2 = 15.7 Ma), has been released in large quantities during nuclear fuel reprocessing and atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Due to the biological affinity of iodine, anthropogenic 129I is incorporated into organic material such as vegetation, soil and sediment. We have investigated the presence of 129I and the stable isotope of iodine, 127I, in river and lake waters, soil and sediments around the Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, NY. The West Valley facility, which lies in close proximity to the city of Buffalo and the Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario, consists of a decommissioned reprocessing facility and two waste burial grounds. The facility is estimated to have released approximately 10 kg of 129I via site runoff and smoke stack emissions during its years of active operation in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Current concentrations of 129I and 127I in surface geochemical reservoirs in the vicinity of the site will be related to estimates for the total amount of 129I released during site operation, in an attempt to understand the transport pathways and geochemical cycling of this isotope after a release event. THURSDAY: 4th, March, 2010 OPEN DISCUSSION FORUM (Q&A)