Comparative uptake of uranium, thorium, and plutonium by biota inhabiting a contaminated Tennessee floodplain
The uptake of /sup 238/U, /sup 232/Th, and /sup 239/Pu from soil by fescue, grasshoppers, and small mammals was compared at the contaminated White Oak Creek floodplain in East Tennessee. Comparisons of actinide uptake were based on analyses of radionuclide ratios (U/Pu and Th/Pu) in soil and biota. U:Pu ratios in small mammal carcasses (shrews, mice, and rats) and bone samples from larger mammals (rabbit, woodchuck, opossum, and raccoon) were significantly greater (P less than or equal to 0.05) than U/Pu ratios in soil (based on 8M HNO/sub 3/ extractable). There was no significant difference between Th/Pu ratios in animals and soil. The order of actinide accumulation by biota from the site relative to contaminated soil was U > Th approx. = Pu.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 6584770
- Journal Information:
- J. Environ. Qual.; (United States), Vol. 10:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
PLANTS
PLUTONIUM 239
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
UPTAKE
THORIUM 232
URANIUM 238
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CONTAMINATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GRASSHOPPERS
MAMMALS
MARSUPIALS
MICE
RABBITS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RATS
RODENTS
SHREWS
SOILS
TENNESSEE
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
DATA
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
INSECTS
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ORTHOPTERA
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
SOUTHEAST REGION
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
USA
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
510302* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)
560172 - Radiation Effects- Nuclide Kinetics & Toxicology- Animals- (-1987)
560173 - Radiation Effects- Nuclide Kinetics & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)
054000 - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety