Radiation-Chemical Behavior of Plutonium in the Heterogeneous System PuO2-Ground Water

Radiation-chemical behavior of plutonium in the heterogeneous system PuO₂-ground water from the Red forest in the vicinity of Chernobyl NPP was studied. It was found that, in nonirradiated and irradiated ground water, Pu(IV) passes into the aqueous phase with subsequent transformation into Pu(V) and Pu(III). The degree of plutonium leaching is governed by the amount of organic substances, particularly fulvic and mellitic acids, in the ground water, and the degree of conversion of Pu(IV) to Pu(III) and Pu(V), by the ionizing radiation dose. The physicochemical and radiation-chemical behavior of plutonium in the systems was judged from the spectral characteristics of the irradiated and nonirradiated solutions.