TRAN-STAT: statistics for environmental studies, Number 22. Comparison of soil-sampling techniques for plutonium at Rocky Flats

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6530943

Gilbert, R O; Bernhardt, D E; Hahn, P B

A summary of a field soil sampling study conducted around the Rocky Flats Colorado plant in May 1977 is preseted. Several different soil sampling techniques that had been used in the area were applied at four different sites. One objective was to comparethe average /sup 239 -240/Pu concentration values obtained by the various soil sampling techniques used. There was also interest in determining whether there are differences in the reproducibility of the various techniques and how the techniques compared with the proposed EPA technique of sampling to 1 cm depth. Statistically significant differences in average concentrations between the techniques were found. The differences could be largely related to the differences in sampling depth-the primary physical variable between the techniques. The reproducibility of the techniques was evaluated by comparing coefficients of variation. Differences between coefficients of variation were not statistically significant. Average (median) coefficients ranged from 21 to 42 percent for the five sampling techniques. A laboratory study indicated that various sample treatment and particle sizing techniques could increase the concentration of plutonium in the less than 10 micrometer size fraction by up to a factor of about 4 compared to the 2 mm size fraction.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6530943
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-11034; ON: DE83005561
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
PLUTONIUM 239
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PLUTONIUM 240
ROCKY FLATS PLANT
RADIATION MONITORING
SOILS
RADIOACTIVITY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
SAMPLING
SITE SURVEYS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
510301* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)