Field studies on the terrestrial behavior of actinide elements in East Tennessee
Field studies on the comparative uptake of various actinide elements (/sup 232/Th, /sup 233/U, /sup 238/U, /sup 239/Pu, /sup 241/Am, and /sup 244/Cm) by plants and animals inhabiting historically contaminated environments on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) reservation in East Tennessee are summarized. The present-day pattern of actinide element bioaccumulation from a flood plain site contaminated with Pu in 1944 is U > Th approx. Pu. Thus the environmentally dispersed /sup 239/Pu exhibits a transfer from floodplain soil to biota comparable to that of indigenous /sup 232/Th and less than that of the indigenous /sup 238/U. This ranking agrees with the chemical extractability of U, Th, and Pu from soil, using either weak acids or strongly basic reagents. The pattern of actinide element uptake from the shoreline of a historically contaminated pond is Pu < Am approx. Cm < /sup 238/U = /sup 233/U. This ranking also agrees with the chemical extractability of Pu, Am, Cm, and U from shoreline sediment, using weak acids. Results from field studies at ORNL agree with what has been generally inferred about the relative food chain transfer of the actinides, based on laboratory studies and field studies at other sites in the United States. Because they share the same valence state, there are apparent strong similarities in soil sorption, plant uptake, and animal uptake between trivalent Am and Cm and between tetravalent Pu and Th. Available evidence suggests that knowledge of the behavior of naturally occurring /sup 232/Th in the terrestrial food chain can be useful for predicting the long-term fate of environmentally dispersed /sup 239/Pu, while data on /sup 238/U might be used to place an upper limit on the expected long-term food chain transfer of all transuranic elements except Np. 33 references, 5 figures, 1 table.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5990282
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-841142-2; ON: DE85005383
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Comparative food-chain behavior and distribution of actinide elements in and around a contaminated fresh-water pond
Comparative uptake of uranium, thorium, and plutonium by biota inhabiting a contaminated Tennessee floodplain
Related Subjects
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains-- (-1987)
520302 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Aquatic Ecosystems & Food Chains-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABSORPTION
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM 241
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CURIUM 244
CURIUM ISOTOPES
DATA
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOOD CHAINS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEPTUNIUM
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORNL
PLANTS
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SOILS
SURFACE WATERS
THORIUM 232
THORIUM ISOTOPES
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
URANIUM 233
URANIUM 238
URANIUM ISOTOPES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WILD ANIMALS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES