Remobilization of /sup 137/Cs in the steel creek system following L-reactor restart at the Savannah River Plant

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5516520

Hayes, D W

The L Reactor at the Savannah River Plant (SRP), which had been shut down in 1968, was restarted in November 1985. As part of the environmental impact statement required to restart the reactor, SRP agreed to monitor /sup 137/Cs transport in Steel Creek, which receives the cooling water discharged from the L Reactor. A comprehensive sampling and analysis program to monitor /sup 137/Cs transport from Steel Creek to the Savannah River prior to and following L-Reactor restart was initiated. Results from the first month's study showed that most of the remobilized /sup 137/Cs came from the stream portion of Steel Creek and that concentrations at the mouth of Steel Creek were less than in the stream portion. No extensive sediment transport of /sup 137/Cs to the Savannah River occurred. Extrapolating the first month's /sup 137/Cs transport data for a year, < 2 Ci of /sup 137/Cs will have been transported to the Savannah River during the first year of L-Reactor operation. This is approx. 50% of the initial estimate that was made for the L-Reactor environmental impact statement showing that the methods used in the initial estimate provided conservatism in assessing the transport of /sup 137/Cs to the Savannah River. These 2 Ci of /sup 137/Cs transported to the Savannah River when diluted with the annual flow of the river would result in a concentration of approx. 0.3 pCi/l or < 1% of the proposed EPA drinking water guide of 100 pCi/l.

• OSTI ID: 5516520
• Report Number(s): CONF-870601-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 54
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
220700 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Plutonium &amp; Isotope Production Reactors
520300* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring &amp; Transport-- (1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COOLING SYSTEMS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FUEL ELEMENT FAILURE
HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS
ISOTOPES
L REACTOR
MASS TRANSFER
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OPERATION
PRODUCTION REACTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTOR START-UP
REACTORS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SPECIAL PRODUCTION REACTORS
START-UP
SURFACE WATERS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES