Feasibility of using 236U to reconstruct close-in fallout deposition from the Hiroshima atomic bomb Original Research Article

The first results on the feasibility of using 236U to reconstruct the level and spatial distribution of close-in fallout deposition from the Hiroshima A-bomb are reported, coupled with the use of global fallout 137Cs and 239 + 240Pu. The results for global fallout 236U in soil samples (0–30 cm) from Ishikawa prefecture showed that the deposition density of 236U from the global fallout can be accurately evaluated using AMS. All deposited 236U, 137Cs and 239 + 240Pu appeared to have been recovered using 30-cm cores. It was also noted from the depth profiles for 236U/239 + 240Pu and 236U/137Cs ratios that the downward behavior of 236U in the soil was apparently similar to that of 239 + 240Pu, while the 137Cs was liable to be retained in upper layers compared with 236U and 239 + 240Pu. The accumulated levels were 1.78 × 1013 atoms m− 2 for 236U, 4340 Bq m− 2 for 137Cs and 141 Bq m− 2 for 239 + 240Pu. The ratios of 236U/137Cs and 236U/239 + 240Pu were (4.10 ± 0.12) × 109 and (1.26 ± 0.04) × 1011 atoms Bq− 1, respectively. Results of 236U, 137Cs and 239 + 240Pu measurements for the seven soil cores (0–30 cm) from Hiroshima were discussed on the basis of ratios of 236U/137Cs and 236U/239 + 240Pu by comparing with those from the background area in Ishikawa, indicating that the global fallout dominates the current level of 236U accumulation in soil in the Black-rain area around Hiroshima after the Hiroshima bomb, and the contribution of the close-in fallout 236U produced by the Hiroshima A-bomb seems difficult to observe.