Evidence of long-lived I and Pu isotopes enrichment in vegetation samples around the Marcoule Nuclear Reprocessing Plant (France)

Iodine-129 and 238Pu, 239Pu and 240Pu are radionuclides posing a long-term safety concern due to their potential integration in bio and geo-chemical cycles and their significant half-lives. They are present throughout the environment at very low levels, and more particularly, nuclear fuel reprocessing plants (NRP) have been identified as local sources of these radionuclides. However, due to measurement difficulties, published data concerning their activity levels in terrestrial environments around NRP facilities remain scarce. The aim of the present paper is to communicate 129I, 238Pu and 239+240Pu measurements results from the area surrounding the Marcoule NRP, which is situated in SE France. Several vegetation samples were collected around the nuclear installation in 1999 and 2000, in order to examine the possible impacts of its atmospheric I and Pu discharges. Based on 238Pu/239+240Pu activity ratios and 129I/127I isotopic ratios, local increases in Pu and 129I were detected and related to industrial activity.