Abstract
The paper presents data on the collection and determination of iodine-131 from the air following the May, October, and December, 1966, atmospheric nuclear detonations by mainland China. The iodine-131 was collected on an alkaline barium-iodide-iodate impregnated filter and was determined by a destructive sulfuric acid distillation followed by collection and analysis of the gaseous iodine-131 evolved. Radioactivity measurements were made using a 3 × 3-inch NaI(TI) 1-inch-well crystal coupled to a 200-channel gamma analyzer. The variations in the amounts of iodine-131 recovered followed the gross beta activities for these periods. It is not known definitely if the iodine-131 collected in this manner includes the organically bound iodine-131. In future tests studies will be made to determine if all the forms of iodine-131 are collected by the barium-impregnated filter.