Accelerator mass spectrometry as a powerful tool for the determination of I-129 in rainwater

I-129 is a very long-lived radionuclide (T-1/2 = 15.7 x 10(6) years) that i s present in the environment both because of natural and anthropogenic sour ces. Its environmental interest, for example, as a tracer of geological pro cesses, makes it the research target of a growing scientific community. How ever, its detection in environmental samples by radiometric methods is very difficult because of its long half-life. In this work, we present the meth odology developed for its detection by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) in rainwater. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.