skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Seasonal trends in environmental tritium concentrations in a small forest adjacent to a radioactive waste storage area

Abstract

Tritium (HTO) concentrations were studied for an entire year in a floodplain forest adjacent to a low-level radioactive solid waste storage area (SWSA No. 5) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Tritium in soil was the principal source of HTO to the deciduous forest. Evaporation from the surface soil along with transpiration from trees leaves both contributed to HTO in the forest atmosphere. During the growing season, transpiration was the principal contributor of HTO to the forest atmosphere, while during the dormant season, the main source of atmospheric HTO was evaporation from the surface soil. Seasonal changes and the characteristics of vegetation will influence the relative importance of evaporation and transpiration as sources of atmospheric HTO near the ground in temperate deciduous forests. 8 refs., 9 figs.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
  1. Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
5325539
Report Number(s):
CONF-910920-2
ON: DE91018937
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-84OR21400
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 4. topical meeting on tritium technology in fission, fusion, and isotopic applications, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 30 Sep - 4 Oct 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 58 GEOSCIENCES; 12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; DECIDUOUS TREES; TRANSPIRATION; FORESTS; MICROCLIMATES; GROUND WATER; SEASONAL VARIATIONS; RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES; SOILS; EVAPORATION; TRITIUM; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY; LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES; ORNL; PLANTS; SURFACE AIR; AIR; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CLIMATES; FLUIDS; GASES; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; HYDROGEN ISOTOPES; ISOTOPES; LIGHT NUCLEI; MATERIALS; NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; NUCLEAR FACILITIES; NUCLEI; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS; RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS; RADIOACTIVE WASTES; RADIOISOTOPES; TREES; US AEC; US DOE; US ERDA; US ORGANIZATIONS; VARIATIONS; WASTES; WATER; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; 540230* - Environment, Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-); 540130 - Environment, Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-); 540330 - Environment, Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-); 580000 - Geosciences; 052000 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Management

Citation Formats

Amano, Hikaru, and Garten, Jr, C T. Seasonal trends in environmental tritium concentrations in a small forest adjacent to a radioactive waste storage area. United States: N. p., 1991. Web.
Amano, Hikaru, & Garten, Jr, C T. Seasonal trends in environmental tritium concentrations in a small forest adjacent to a radioactive waste storage area. United States.
Amano, Hikaru, and Garten, Jr, C T. 1991. "Seasonal trends in environmental tritium concentrations in a small forest adjacent to a radioactive waste storage area". United States.
@article{osti_5325539,
title = {Seasonal trends in environmental tritium concentrations in a small forest adjacent to a radioactive waste storage area},
author = {Amano, Hikaru and Garten, Jr, C T},
abstractNote = {Tritium (HTO) concentrations were studied for an entire year in a floodplain forest adjacent to a low-level radioactive solid waste storage area (SWSA No. 5) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Tritium in soil was the principal source of HTO to the deciduous forest. Evaporation from the surface soil along with transpiration from trees leaves both contributed to HTO in the forest atmosphere. During the growing season, transpiration was the principal contributor of HTO to the forest atmosphere, while during the dormant season, the main source of atmospheric HTO was evaporation from the surface soil. Seasonal changes and the characteristics of vegetation will influence the relative importance of evaporation and transpiration as sources of atmospheric HTO near the ground in temperate deciduous forests. 8 refs., 9 figs.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5325539}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991},
month = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991}
}

Conference:
Other availability
Please see Document Availability for additional information on obtaining the full-text document. Library patrons may search WorldCat to identify libraries that hold this conference proceeding.

Save / Share: