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Title: Radiological survey of shoreline vegetation from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1990--1992

Abstract

A great deal of interest exists concerning the seepage of radiologically contaminated groundwater into the Columbia River where it borders the US Department of Energy`s Hanford Site (Hanford Reach). Areas of particular interest include the 100-N Area, the Old Hanford Townsite, and the 300 Area springs. While the radiological character of the seeps and springs along the Hanford Site shoreline has been studied, less attention has been given to characterizing the radionuclides that may be present in shoreline vegetation. The objective of this study was to characterize radionuclide concentrations in shoreline plants along the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River that were usable by humans for food or other purposes. Vegetation in two areas was found to have elevated levels of radionuclides. Those areas were the 100-N Area and the Old Hanford Townsite. There was also some indication of uranium accumulation in milfoil and onions collected from the 300 Area. Tritium was elevated above background in all areas; {sup 60}Co and {sup 9O}Sr were found in highest concentrations in vegetation from the 100-N Area. Technetium-99 was found in 2 of 12 plants collected from the Old Hanford Townsite and 1 of 10 samples collected upstream from the Vernita Bridge. Themore » concentrations of {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, and isotopes of uranium were just above background in all three areas (100-N Area, Old Hanford Townsite, and 300 Area).« less

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
10185308
Report Number(s):
PNL-8797
ON: DE94000349; TRN: 93:025412
DOE Contract Number:  
AC06-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Sep 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; PLANTS; RADIOACTIVITY; GROUND WATER; CONTAMINATION; HANFORD RESERVATION; COLUMBIA RIVER; TRITIUM; URANIUM 235; CESIUM 137; URANIUM 234; URANIUM 238; PLUTONIUM 238; PLUTONIUM 239; STRONTIUM 90; RADIATION MONITORING; SAMPLING; 053002; 540250; 540230; RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS; SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES; RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT

Citation Formats

Antonio, E J, Poston, T M, and Rickard, Jr, W H. Radiological survey of shoreline vegetation from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1990--1992. United States: N. p., 1993. Web. doi:10.2172/10185308.
Antonio, E J, Poston, T M, & Rickard, Jr, W H. Radiological survey of shoreline vegetation from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1990--1992. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/10185308
Antonio, E J, Poston, T M, and Rickard, Jr, W H. 1993. "Radiological survey of shoreline vegetation from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1990--1992". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/10185308. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10185308.
@article{osti_10185308,
title = {Radiological survey of shoreline vegetation from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1990--1992},
author = {Antonio, E J and Poston, T M and Rickard, Jr, W H},
abstractNote = {A great deal of interest exists concerning the seepage of radiologically contaminated groundwater into the Columbia River where it borders the US Department of Energy`s Hanford Site (Hanford Reach). Areas of particular interest include the 100-N Area, the Old Hanford Townsite, and the 300 Area springs. While the radiological character of the seeps and springs along the Hanford Site shoreline has been studied, less attention has been given to characterizing the radionuclides that may be present in shoreline vegetation. The objective of this study was to characterize radionuclide concentrations in shoreline plants along the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River that were usable by humans for food or other purposes. Vegetation in two areas was found to have elevated levels of radionuclides. Those areas were the 100-N Area and the Old Hanford Townsite. There was also some indication of uranium accumulation in milfoil and onions collected from the 300 Area. Tritium was elevated above background in all areas; {sup 60}Co and {sup 9O}Sr were found in highest concentrations in vegetation from the 100-N Area. Technetium-99 was found in 2 of 12 plants collected from the Old Hanford Townsite and 1 of 10 samples collected upstream from the Vernita Bridge. The concentrations of {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, and isotopes of uranium were just above background in all three areas (100-N Area, Old Hanford Townsite, and 300 Area).},
doi = {10.2172/10185308},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/10185308}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993},
month = {Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993}
}