Chlorine-36 in Water, Snow, and Mid-Latitude Glacial Ice of North America: Meteoric and Weapons-Tests Production in the Vicinity of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho
- USGS
- Purdue University
- University of Waterloo
- University of Arizona
Measurements of chlorine-36 (36Cl) were made for 64 water, snow, and glacial-ice and -runoff samples to determine the meteoric and weapons-tests-produced concentrations and fluxes of this radionuclide at mid-latitudes in North America. The results will facilitate the use of 36Cl as a hydrogeologic tracer at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). This information was used to estimate meteoric and weapons-tests contributions of this nuclide to environmental inventories at and near the INEEL. The data presented in this report suggest a meteoric source 36Cl for environmental samples collected in southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming if the concentration is less than 1 x 10 7 atoms/L. Additionally, concentrations in water, snow, or glacial ice between 1 x 10 7 and 1 x 10 8 atoms/L may be indicative of a weapons-tests component from peak 36Cl production in the late 1950s. Chlorine-36 concentrations between 1 x 10 8 and 1 x 10 9 atoms/L may be representative of re-suspension of weapons-tests fallout airborne disposal of 36Cl from the INTEC, or evapotranspiration. It was concluded from the water, snow, and glacial data presented here that concentrations of 36Cl measured in environmental samples at the INEEL larger than 1 x 10 9 atoms/L can be attributed to waste-disposal practices.
- Research Organization:
- U. S. Geological Survey, Idaho Falls, ID (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 765561
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ID-22156; TRN: AH200103%%631
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jan 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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