Forage uptake of uranium series radionuclides in the vicinity of the anaconda uranium mill

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6350976

Rayno, D R; Momeni, M H; Sabau, C

Radiochemical analysis was performed on samples of soil and eight species of common vegetation growing on the Anaconda uranium mill site, located in New Mexico. The concentrations of the long-lived radionuclides U-238, U-234, Th-230, Ra-226, and Pb-210 in these forage plants were determined. The sampling procedures and analytical laboratory methods used are described. The highest radionuclide concentration found in a forage species was 130 pCi of Ra-226 per gram dry weight for grass growing on the main tailings pile at Anaconda, where the surface soil activity of Ra-226 was 236 pCi/g. A comparison of shoots activity with that of roots and soil was used to determine a distribution index and uptake coefficient for each species. The distribution index, the ratio of root activity to shoot activity, ranged from 0.30 (Th-230) in galleta grass (Hilaria jamesii) to 38.0 (Ra-226) in Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides). In nearly all instances, the roots contained higher radionuclide concentrations. The uptake coefficient, the ratio of vegetation activity to soil activity, ranged from 0.69 (U-238) in Indian ricegrass roots to 0.01 (U-238) in four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescans) shoots. The range of radionuclide concentrations in plants growing on the Anaconda mill site is compared to that in vegetation from a control site 20 km away.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6350976
• Report Number(s): CONF-801155-6; TRN: 81-012035
• Resource Relation: Conference: 3. annual symposium on uranium mill tailings management, Ft Collins, CO, USA, 24 Nov 1980
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FOOD CHAINS
CONTAMINATION
FORAGE
LEAD 210
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PLANTS
UPTAKE
RADIUM 226
THORIUM 230
URANIUM 234
URANIUM 238
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
MILL TAILINGS
NEW MEXICO
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
SOILS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMAL FEEDS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DATA
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FOOD
HEAVY NUCLEI
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
LEAD ISOTOPES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM ISOTOPES
SOLID WASTES
SOUTHWEST REGION
TAILINGS
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
USA
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
510302 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)