Stontium-90 contamination in vegetation from radioactive waste seepage areas at ORNL, and theoretical calculations of /sup 90/Sr accumulation by deer

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6205243· OSTI ID:6205243

Garten, Jr., C. T.; Lomax, R. D.

This report describes data obtained during a preliminary characterization of /sup 90/Sr levels in browse vegetation from the vicinity of seeps adjacent to ORNL solid waste storage areas (SWSA) where deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were suspected to accumulate /sup 90/Sr through the food chain. The highest strontium concentrations in plant samples were found at seeps associated with SWSA-5. Strontium-90 concentrations in honeysuckle and/or blackberry shoots from two seeps in SWSA-5 averaged 39 and 19 nCi/g dry weight (DW), respectively. The maximum concentration observed was 90 nCi/g DW. Strontium-90 concentrations in honeysuckle and blackberry shoots averaged 7.4 nCi/g DW in a study area south of SWSA-4, and averaged 1.0 nCi/g DW in fescue grass from a seepage area located on SWSA-4. A simple model (based on metabolic data for mule deer) has been used to describe the theoretical accumulation of /sup 90/Sr in bone of whitetail deer following ingestion of contaminated vegetation. These model calculations suggest that if 30 pCi /sup 90/Sr/g deer bone is to be the accepted screening level for retaining deer killed on the reservation, then 5-pCi /sup 90/Sr/g DW vegetation should be considered as a possible action level in making decisions about the need for remedial measures, because unrestricted access and full utilization of vegetation contaminated with <5 pCi/g DW results in calculated steady-state (maximum) /sup 90/Sr bone concentrations of <30 pCi/g in a 45-kg buck.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6205243
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-10453; ON: DE87013371
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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