Plutonium in soil from Dolon near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site

The plutonium activities (Pu-238 and Pu-239,Pu-240) of soil samples from th e village of Dolon, located close to the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan, were measured and compared with the Sr-90 and Cs-137 activitie s. Depth profiles of Pu-239,Pu-240 were determined for four of the nine sam pling sites. The Pu-239,Pu-240 areal deposition at the nine sites is in the range of 140 to 9700 Bqm(-2). For all samples, the Pu-239,Pu-140 yield aft er destruction of the soil matrix is significantly higher than after extrac ting with 8M HNO3 indicating that Pu-239,Pu-240 originates mainly from loca l fallout. The fraction of Pu-239,Pu-240 not leached with 8M HNO3 is assume d to be associated with fused silicates.