Published : 2013-02-14 15:57 Updated : 2013-02-14 18:01
Radioactive isotopes of xenon were not detected in the
atmosphere after North Korea’s nuclear test, Seoul’s Korea
Institute of Nuclear Safety said Thursday. Korea Institute of
Nuclear Safety said radioactive xenon was not found in the first
batch of samples collected using mobile collecting equipment in
the East Sea on Wednesday. Radioactive isotopes of various
elements are released into the atmosphere following a nuclear
test, and the material -- plutonium or uranium -- used in the
explosive device can be determined by analyzing the proportion
of xenon in the sample. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety
said that it would now analyze later samples for xenon. However,
as radioactive xenon isotopes have short half-lives, the
likelihood of collecting the isotopes required to determine the
material used in the latest nuclear test would drop with time.
Of the four radioactive xenon isotopes the Korea Institute of
Nuclear Safety is looking for, the longest h