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Title: Environmental radiological studies downstream from the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Generating Station, 1985

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5683150· OSTI ID:5683150

Information compiled in 1985 while assessing the environmental impact of radionuclides previously discharged with aqueous releases from the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Generating Plant is presented. In October 1984, the quantities of gamma-emitting radionuclides in water discharged to Clay Creek from the plant were reduced below operationally defined detection limits for liquid effluents. However, radionuclides previously discharged persist in the downstream environment and are found in many aquatic dietary components. /sup 134/Cs and /sup 137/Cs are the primary gamma-emitting radionuclides detected in the edible flesh of different fish, crayfish, and frogs. Coefficients for exponential equations are generated, from a least square analysis, that relate the change in concentration of /sup 137/Cs in fish to distance downstream and time between March and October 1985. Concentrations of /sup 137/Cs in surface creek sediments also decreased in the downstream direction much in the same manner as concentrations decreased in fish. However, there was no significant difference in the radiocesium concentrations in surface sediements collected from comparable locations during both 1984 and 1985.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5683150
Report Number(s):
UCID-20641-Pt.1; ON: DE86011014
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English