Plutonium measurements near background levels

Conference · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:10166140

The Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) is part of a nationwide nuclear weapons research, development, and production complex administered by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Low-levels of environmental Plutonium occurs in and about RFP as a result of plant operations. Plutonium is a key element in remediation investigations and surface water discharge limits. Most of the plutonium analyses at RFP measure concentrations at or near background levels. Measurements often show little, if any, plutonium in the media being sampled, except at known contamination sites. Many plutonium results are less than the calculated minimum detectable-level (MDL). (MDL is an a priori estimate of the activity concentration that can be practically achieved under a specified set of typical measurement conditions.) This paper investigates the relationship between plutonium concentrations and the counting uncertainty when measurements are near background, and suggests why the MDL should not be used as a criteria for limiting data. Issues with defining site background and determining attainment of standards are presented.

• Research Organization: EG and G Rocky Flats, Inc., Golden, CO (United States). Rocky Flats Plant
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC34-90DP62349
• OSTI ID: 10166140
• Report Number(s): RFP--4543; CONF-920893--3; ON: DE92016955
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540330
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200
BACKGROUND RADIATION
MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTERS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PLUTONIUM
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REGULATIONS
ROCKY FLATS PLANT
SAMPLING
SETTLING PONDS
SURFACE WATERS
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
WATER QUALITY