Abstract: The contents of ^239+240Pu in the environmental aerosols from seven provinces in China were analyzed using anion exchange resin separation and α spectrometer. Their total recovery rates were 60.8%-94.6%. The minimum detectable limit of ^239+240Pu in aerosols was 0.008 μBq/m³. The sampling volume of aerosol in common environment needs more than 30 000 m³. In emergency and other special situations the aerosol sampling volume of 10 000 m³ will be enough. The ²¹⁰Po content in aerosol is 4-6 orders of magnitude higher than ^239+240Pu. In this analysis, we should pay attention to the influence of ²¹⁰Po on ^239+240Pu measurement. Our experimental results show that the contents of ^239+240Pu in the common environmental aerosols in China are 0.009-0.099 μBq/m³, the Pu content in air aerosols in China is the same level as that in the United States, South Korea and Spain.

Key words: aerosol, tracer method, ^239+240Pu, ²¹⁰Po effect