Plutonium signatures in refractory fallout support a Chernobyl nuclear jet hypothesis

作者：Malcolm J. Joyce, Colin Boxall, Marcus Christl, Patrick Collins-Price, P. Gaca, Philip Gautschi, Francis R. Livens, Argaia Madina, Kirk T. Semple, Phillip E. Warwick, Richard J. Wilbraham · 发表于：Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1007/s10967-025-10541-0 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Radioactive contamination and transfer、Radioactivity and Radon Measurements、Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies

Abstract Measurements of refractory and volatile components in soils from Northern England confirm 244 Pu/ 239 Pu consistent with the global average but refractory 240 Pu/ 239 Pu significantly higher but consistent with Chernobyl fallout, i.e., 0.390 ± 0.006. Refractory formation suggests temperatures > 3000°C, consistent with atmospheric injection by nuclear-driven explosions rather than by steam or hydrogen. Volatile 240 Pu/ 239 Pu is consistent with the global average, 0.181 ± 0.002, and hence lower-temperature formation in the chemical explosions and subsequent fire. This hypothesis is supported by 239 Pu fission and capture cross-section enhancement due to the S-wave resonance at ~ 0.3 eV. A further calibration with a 240 Pu standard is recommended to substantiate these observations.