Removal of plutonium from drinking water by community water treatment facilities

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:4112656

Corey, J. C.; Boni, A. L.

Plutonium removal factors (RF) averaged 14 +- 10 during a study of the effectiveness of three drinking-water treatment plants for removing Pu from Savannah River water. Plutonium concentrations between 0.1 and 3.5 femtocurie/l were measured in raw and finished water samples. From 50 to 10,000 liter samples of water were concentrated by ion exchange techniques and processed to determine the concentrations of $sup 239$Pu and $sup 240$Pu and to derive Pu RF's. The similarity between RF's observed for both Pu and suspended solids suggests a colloidal behavior for Pu. Plutonium RF's may be limited by low-level buildup on the treatment facility filters and subsequent bleeding into finished water, and thus may be higher during abnormal Pu releases to the environment. Flocculation and filtration appear to be the primary factors in the water treatment process contributing to Pu removal. The similarity between the plutonium contents of finished water from treatment facilities upstream and downstream of the Savannah River Plant (SRP) indicates that there is no measurable dose-to-man from SRP Pu releases in the water. The 70-year bone dose commitment to an individual from consumption for one year of 1.65 liters per day of treated Savannah River water, based on the Pu concentrations of finished waters from the three treatment facilities, is 5 x 10$sup -5$ em. (auth)

• Research Organization: Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, S.C. (USA). Savannah River Lab.
• NSA Number: NSA-33-012002
• OSTI ID: 4112656
• Report Number(s): DP-MS--75-26; CONF-751105--11; SM--199/81
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

*DRINKING WATER-- PURIFICATION
*PLUTONIUM 239-- REMOVAL
*PLUTONIUM 240-- REMOVAL
520300* --Environmental Sciences
Aquatic--Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport
FILTRATION
FLOCCULATION
ION EXCHANGE
N44300* --Environmental & Earth Sciences--Radioactivity Monitoring & Transport
N44340 --Environmental & Earth Sciences--Radioactivity Monitoring & Transport--Ecosystems & Food Cycles
N48610 --Life Sciences--Radionuclide Effects (Internal Source)--Man
SAVANNAH RIVER