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

Title: Environmental radiological studies in 1989 near the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Generating Station

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6273385· OSTI ID:6273385

In December 1988, the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) asked the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Environmental Sciences Division (ENV) to collect sediment, water,and fish samples downstream from the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Generating Station for analysis of radionuclides to compare with results from earlier surveys in 1984 through 1987 (1--8). ENV was, however, asked to reduce the total number of sample collections to a minimum in this study because of financial constraints. The proposal ENV submitted for the 1989 Environmental Radiological Studies downstream of the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Generating Station reflected this reduction, but we believe, nevertheless, the 1989 efforts do allow us to make some meaningful comparisons with the previous studies. Cesium-137 is the most significant radionuclide still observed downstream from the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant. Only occasionally is {sup 134}Cs or {sup 60}CO observed. In 1989, the concentration of {sup 137}Cs in the water and fish decreased with distance from the plant to the same level that is was in 1987, and was lower than it had been from 1984 through 1986. The concentration ratio (CR) for {sup 137}Cs in fish is between 1000 and 1500, which is below the NRC default value of 2000. Physical mixing in the creek environment has moved the {sup 137}Cs deeper into the sediment column, thereby reducing the concentration in the top 12 cm relative to that in previous years. 8 refs., 18 figs., 9 tabs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/DP
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
6273385
Report Number(s):
UCRL-ID-106111; ON: DE91004991; TRN: 91-002308
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English