Plutonium and cesium radionuclides in the Hudson River estuary. Annual technical progress report, December 1, 1976--November 30, 1977

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7094418· OSTI ID:7094418

Simpson, H J; Trier, R M

We have obtained a large set of sediment cores from the Hudson estuary through much of the ambient salinity range. A number of core sections and samples of suspended particles have been analyzed for /sup 137/Cs, /sup 134/Cs and /sup 60/Co by direct gamma counting, and /sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu, and /sup 238/Pu by alpha spectrometry. The distribution of both /sup 137/Cs and /sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu indicates rapid accumulation in marginal cover areas, and especially in the harbor region adjacent to New York City. The distributions of both /sup 137/Cs and /sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu are similar in surface sediments and with depth in cores, but there are deviations from the fallout ratio due to addition of reactor /sup 137/Cs and loss of /sup 137/Cs from the particle phases at higher salinities. Measureable amounts of reactor-derived /sup 134/Cs and /sup 60/Co are found in nearly all sediment samples containing appreciable /sup 137/Cs, between 15 km upstream of Indian Point and the downstream extent of our sampling, 70 km south of the reactor. Accumulations of /sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu in New York harbor sediments are more than an order of magnitude greater than the fallout delivery rate. The most likely explanation is accumulation of fine particles in the harbor which have been transported from upstream areas of the Hudson. Our evidence so far indicates that Indian Point is probably not a significant source of /sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu or /sup 238/Pu compared with the fallout burden of these nuclides already in the sediments.

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (USA). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-S-02-2529
• OSTI ID: 7094418
• Report Number(s): COO-2529-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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