Radionuclide uptake by trees at a radwaste pond in Washington State
This paper presents work conducted in the summer of 1980 by Rockwell Hanford Operations, Hanford, WA, in support of a proposed effort to decommission and decontaminate a Hanford radwaste pond (216-U-10 Pond). The radionuclide values presented here are in addition to the U-Pond work that was recently published (La83) and are below any levels of environmental concern and within state and federal guidelines. U-Pond was constructed in 1944 for the surface disposal of industrial waste waters from nuclear separation processes and is one of the longest used aquatic, low-level, radioactive waste-disposal sites in the world. Tree leaf/twig, root, core and soil samples were collected and analyzed for /sup 137/Cs, /sup 90/Sr and /sup 239/Pu//sup 240/Pu. Strontium-90 was more readily taken up by trees than /sup 137/Cs or /sup 239/Pu//sup 240/Pu. Soil concentration values for /sup 137/Cs and /sup 239/Pu//sup 240/Pu were significantly greater (p less than or equal to 0.05) than all tree component parts. Radionuclide concentration ratios were higher for /sup 90/Sr (0.01-1355.0) than for /sup 137/Cs and /sup 239/Pu//sup 240/Pu for all tree components examined. Concentration ratios for /sup 239/Pu//sup 240/Pu ranged from 10(-6) to 10(-2) and are comparable to other studies conducted at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Savannah River Laboratories. These data represent the first quantitative information with respect to radionuclide uptake by trees on the Hanford Site.
- Research Organization:
- Rockwell Hanford Operations, Richland, WA
- OSTI ID:
- 5369811
- Journal Information:
- Health Phys.; (United States), Vol. 6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CESIUM 137
ROOT ABSORPTION
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
STRONTIUM 90
TREES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADIOACTIVITY
UPTAKE
WASHINGTON
ABSORPTION
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEDERAL REGION X
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLANTS
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
USA
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510302 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)