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Title: Iodine-129 in forage and deer on the Hanford site and other Pacific Northwest locations

Abstract

Samples of surface soil, litter, forage, and deer (rumen content, muscle, liver, and thyroid gland) were collected from Bend, Oregon; Centralia, Washington; Wenatchee, Washington; the Wooten Game Range near Dayton, Washington; and on or near the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The concentrations of /sup 129/I and /sup 127/I were determined using neturon activation techniques. The purpose of the study was to establish the current levels of /sup 129/I in the environs of the Hanford Site prior to the proposed restart of fuel reprocessing at the PUREX plant. The results of this study clearly demonstrated the longevity of /sup 129/I in the biosphere following gaseous release from a nuclear facility. Analyses of thyroid glands showed that deer living within 160 km (Wooten Game Range) of Hanford had elevated levels of /sup 129/I when compared to the more distant Pacific Northwest locations (Centralia, or Bend). Levels of /sup 129/I in deer thyroid from Bend, or Centralia, (15 fCi/g wet weight), were about five times higher than values reported for the central United States, while, Hanford samples were about 2,700 times higher. The average concentration of /sup 129/I in deer thyroids collected at Hanford in 1978 was similar to samples collected 14 yearsmore » earlier. The concentrations of /sup 129/I in soil, litter, forage, and other deer samples generally decrease in the order: Hanford > Wooten > Wenatchee > Centralia approx. = Bend. This corresponds to an increase in distance from the Hanford Site.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
6640419
Report Number(s):
PNL-3357
TRN: 81-004925
DOE Contract Number:  
AC06-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; HANFORD RESERVATION; CONTAMINATION; IODINE 127; RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION; IODINE 129; ACTIVATION ANALYSIS; DEER; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; FORAGE; FOREST LITTER; GASEOUS WASTES; NEUTRONS; SOILS; WASHINGTON; ANIMAL FEEDS; ANIMALS; BARYONS; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; DATA; ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION; ELEMENTARY PARTICLES; FERMIONS; FOOD; HADRONS; INFORMATION; INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI; INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES; IODINE ISOTOPES; ISOTOPES; MAMMALS; MATERIALS; NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; NORTH AMERICA; NUCLEI; NUCLEONS; NUMERICAL DATA; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION; PLANTS; RADIOISOTOPES; RUMINANTS; STABLE ISOTOPES; US DOE; US ERDA; US ORGANIZATIONS; USA; VERTEBRATES; WASTES; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; 510302* - Environment, Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)

Citation Formats

Price, K R, Cadwell, L L, Schreckhise, R G, and Brauer, F P. Iodine-129 in forage and deer on the Hanford site and other Pacific Northwest locations. United States: N. p., 1981. Web. doi:10.2172/6640419.
Price, K R, Cadwell, L L, Schreckhise, R G, & Brauer, F P. Iodine-129 in forage and deer on the Hanford site and other Pacific Northwest locations. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/6640419
Price, K R, Cadwell, L L, Schreckhise, R G, and Brauer, F P. 1981. "Iodine-129 in forage and deer on the Hanford site and other Pacific Northwest locations". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/6640419. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6640419.
@article{osti_6640419,
title = {Iodine-129 in forage and deer on the Hanford site and other Pacific Northwest locations},
author = {Price, K R and Cadwell, L L and Schreckhise, R G and Brauer, F P},
abstractNote = {Samples of surface soil, litter, forage, and deer (rumen content, muscle, liver, and thyroid gland) were collected from Bend, Oregon; Centralia, Washington; Wenatchee, Washington; the Wooten Game Range near Dayton, Washington; and on or near the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The concentrations of /sup 129/I and /sup 127/I were determined using neturon activation techniques. The purpose of the study was to establish the current levels of /sup 129/I in the environs of the Hanford Site prior to the proposed restart of fuel reprocessing at the PUREX plant. The results of this study clearly demonstrated the longevity of /sup 129/I in the biosphere following gaseous release from a nuclear facility. Analyses of thyroid glands showed that deer living within 160 km (Wooten Game Range) of Hanford had elevated levels of /sup 129/I when compared to the more distant Pacific Northwest locations (Centralia, or Bend). Levels of /sup 129/I in deer thyroid from Bend, or Centralia, (15 fCi/g wet weight), were about five times higher than values reported for the central United States, while, Hanford samples were about 2,700 times higher. The average concentration of /sup 129/I in deer thyroids collected at Hanford in 1978 was similar to samples collected 14 years earlier. The concentrations of /sup 129/I in soil, litter, forage, and other deer samples generally decrease in the order: Hanford > Wooten > Wenatchee > Centralia approx. = Bend. This corresponds to an increase in distance from the Hanford Site.},
doi = {10.2172/6640419},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6640419}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1981},
month = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1981}
}