The plutonium activities (238Pu and 239,240Pu) of soil samples from the village of Dolon, located close to the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan, were measured and compared with the 90Sr and 137Cs activities. Depth profiles of 239,240Pu were determined for four of the nine sampling sites. The 239,240Pu areal deposition at the nine sites is in the range of 140 to 9700 Bq m-2. For all samples, the 239,240Pu yield after destruction of the soil matrix is significantly higher than after extracting with 8 M HNO3 indicating that 239,240Pu originates mainly from local fallout. The fraction of 239,240Pu not leached with 8 M HNO3 is assumed to be associated with fused silicates.
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