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.