Environmental monitoring and surveillance on the Hanford Site, Washington

Conference · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:5923685

Gray, R H

Environmental monitoring has been an ongoing activity on the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington for over 45 years. Objectives are to detect and assess potential impacts of Site operations (nuclear and nonnuclear) on air, surface and ground water, foodstuffs, fish, wildlife, soils and vegetation. Data from monitoring efforts are used to calculate the overall radiological dose to humans working onsite or residing in nearby communities. In 1988, measured Hanford Site perimeter concentrations of airborne radionuclides were below applicable guidelines. Tritium and nitrate continued to be the most wide-spread constituents in onsite ground water. Concentrations of radionuclides and nonradiological water quality in the Columbia River were in compliance with applicable standards. Foodstuffs irrigated with river water downstream of the Site showed levels of radionuclides that were similar to those found in foodstuffs from control areas. Low levels of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 90}Sr in some onsite wildlife samples and concentrations of radionuclides found in soils and vegetation from onsite and offsite locations were typical of those attributable to worldwide fallout. The calculated dose potentially received by a maximally exposed individual in 1988 was similar to those calculated for 1985--1987. In addition to monitoring radioactivity in fish and wildlife, population numbers of key species are determined. 32 refs., 4 figs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5923685
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-17769; CONF-9005159--2; ON: DE91011241
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540150 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Site Resources & Use Studies-- (1990-)
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
540350* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
550100 -- Behavioral Biology
560150 -- Radiation Effects on Animals
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DOSES
EMISSION
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FLUIDS
FOOD CHAINS
GASES
GROUND WATER
HANFORD RESERVATION
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
POPULATIONS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SOILS
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
TRITIUM
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES