Transport and accumulation of cesium-137 and mercury in the Clinch River and Watts Bar Reservoir system. Environmental Restoration Program

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10162352· OSTI ID:10162352

Olsen, C. R.; Larsen, I. L.; Lowry, P. D.; Moriones, C. R.; Ford, C. J.; Dearstone, K. C.; Turner, R. R.; Kimmel, B. L.; Brandt, C. C.

Operations and waste disposal activities at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the Oak Ridge K-25 Site (formerly the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) on the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) have introduced a variety of airborne, liquid, and solid wastes into the surrounding environment. Some of these wastes may affect off-site areas by entering local streams, which ultimately drain into the Clinch and Tennessee river system. Previously reported concentrations of radionuclides, metals and organic compounds in water, sediment, and biota of the Clinch River and Watts Bar Reservoir suggest the presence of a variety of contaminants of possible concern to the protection of human health and the environment. The work reported here represents part of the initial scoping phase for the Clinch River RCRA Facility Investigation. In this work, the distribution of {sup 137}Cs is used to identify contaminant accumulation patterns and potential problem, or ``hot-spot,`` areas with regard to environmental hazard or human health. Radiocesium was chosen for this scoping effort because (1) its history of release into the Clinch River is reasonably well documented, (2) it is easy and inexpensive to measure by gamma spectrometry, and (3) it is rapidly sorbed to particulate matter and thus serves as a cost-effective tracer for identifying the transport and accumulation patterns of many other particle-reactive contaminants, such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and plutonium (Pu), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 10162352
• Report Number(s): ORNL/ER-7; ON: DE92018071
• Resource Relation: Other Information: DN: Environmental Sciences Division Publication 3471; PBD: Jun 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
SURFACE WATERS
CONTAMINATION
SEDIMENTS
CLINCH RIVER
TENNESSEE RIVER
Y-12 PLANT
ORNL
ORGDP
RESOURCE RECOVERY ACTS
CESIUM 137
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
MERCURY
LEAD
PLUTONIUM
MAPS
SAMPLING
RADIATION MONITORING
WATER CHEMISTRY
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
COMPILED DATA
540250
SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES