Radionuclide concentrations in/on vegetation at radioactive-waste disposal Area G during the 1995 growing season. Progress report
Overstory (pinon pine) and understory (grass and forb) vegetation were collected within and around selected points at Area G--a low- level radioactive solid-waste disposal facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory--for the analysis of tritium ({sup 3}H), strontium ({sup 90}Sr), plutonium ({sup 238}Pu and {sup 239}Pu), cesium ({sup 137}Cs), and total uranium. Also, heavy metals (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Tl) in/on vegetation were determined. In general, most (unwashed) vegetation collected within and around Area G contained {sup 3}H, uranium, {sup 238}Pu, and {sup 239}Pu in higher concentrations than vegetation collected from background areas. Tritium, in particular, was detected as high as 7300 pCi mL{sup -1} in understory vegetation collected from the west side of the transuranic (TRU) pads. The south and west ends of the tritium shaft field also contained elevated levels of {sup 3}H in overstory, and especially in understory vegetation, as compared to background; this suggests that {sup 3}H may be migrating from this waste repository through surface and subsurface pathways. Also, understory vegetation collected north of the TRU pads (adjacent to the fence line of Area G) contained the highest values of {sup 238}Pu and {sup 239}Pu as compared to background, and may be a result of surface holding, storage, and/or disposal activities.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 204674
- Report Number(s):
- LA--13124-PR; ON: DE96006801
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Radionuclide concentrations in soils and vegetation at radioactive-waste disposal Area G during the 1996 growing season. Progress report
Radionuclide concentrations in soils and vegetation at Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Area G during the 1998 growing season (with a cumulative summary of {sup 3}H and {sup 239}Pu over time)
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANTIMONY
ARSENIC
BARIUM
BERYLLIUM
CADMIUM
CHROMIUM
GRAMINEAE
LANL
LEAD
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MERCURY
NICKEL
PINES
PLUTONIUM
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
SELENIUM
SHRUBS
SILVER
STRONTIUM 90
TRITIUM
URANIUM