Isotopic Tracking of Hanford 300 Area Derived Uranium in the Columbia River
A portion of the subsurface contamination at the Hanford Site, the former plutonium production facility in Washington State, affects the Columbia River. A component of this contamination, uranium (U), has variable isotopic composition due to nuclear industrial processes carried out at the site. This characteristic makes it possible to use high-precision isotopic measurements of U in environmental samples to identify even trace levels of contaminant U, determine its sources, and estimate discharge rates. Our data on river water samples indicate that as much as 3.2 kg/day can enter the Columbia River from the 300 Area of the Hanford Site, which is only a small fraction of the total load of dissolved natural background U carried by the Columbia River. This very low–level contamination can be discerned, despite further dilution to <1% of natural background U, as far as 350 km downstream from the Hanford Site. These results indicate that isotopic methods can allow the amounts of U contamination from the Hanford Site to be measured accurately enough to ascertain where they are an environmental concern, and where they are insignificant.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1095470
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-74210; EY5142401
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science & Technology, 44(23):8855-8862, Journal Name: Environmental Science & Technology, 44(23):8855-8862
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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