Abstract
Full text: In the State of Virginia, the James River flows into the Chesapeake Bay and from the mouth of the James River to the fall line the river is under the influence of tidal forces. There are several centers of commerce along the river including an international port of call at the mouth of the James. Associated with the centers of commerce are potential sources of radioactive materials for being released to the river. Two hundred miles inland, the Babcock and Wilcox nuclear fuels processing plants are situated along-side the James River, which has been known to flood its banks quickly in the mountainous regions of Virginia. Storage tanks have been swept downstream from this facility in a previous flood. Fortunately, the tanks were not destroyed. Another source of a possible release is the Suny Nuclear Power Station located on the James River about fifty miles from the Chesapeake Bay. In the cities of Norfolk and Newport News, shipyards are fueling and defueling the Navy's nuclear powered fleet. In addition, many of the Navy's ships are carrying nuclear weapons. These activities may also result in an inadvertent release. In assessing the radiological release from any one of the previously
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Foldesi, Leslie P
[1]
- Virginia Department of Health, Bureau of Radiological Health, Richmond, VA (United States)
Citation Formats
Foldesi, Leslie P.
Concerns in assessing radiological releases to a major estuary.
IAEA: N. p.,
1989.
Web.
Foldesi, Leslie P.
Concerns in assessing radiological releases to a major estuary.
IAEA.
Foldesi, Leslie P.
1989.
"Concerns in assessing radiological releases to a major estuary."
IAEA.
@misc{etde_20528789,
title = {Concerns in assessing radiological releases to a major estuary}
author = {Foldesi, Leslie P}
abstractNote = {Full text: In the State of Virginia, the James River flows into the Chesapeake Bay and from the mouth of the James River to the fall line the river is under the influence of tidal forces. There are several centers of commerce along the river including an international port of call at the mouth of the James. Associated with the centers of commerce are potential sources of radioactive materials for being released to the river. Two hundred miles inland, the Babcock and Wilcox nuclear fuels processing plants are situated along-side the James River, which has been known to flood its banks quickly in the mountainous regions of Virginia. Storage tanks have been swept downstream from this facility in a previous flood. Fortunately, the tanks were not destroyed. Another source of a possible release is the Suny Nuclear Power Station located on the James River about fifty miles from the Chesapeake Bay. In the cities of Norfolk and Newport News, shipyards are fueling and defueling the Navy's nuclear powered fleet. In addition, many of the Navy's ships are carrying nuclear weapons. These activities may also result in an inadvertent release. In assessing the radiological release from any one of the previously mentioned activities, it is obvious that dilution of the material released into the river is a major factor in dose assessment, as well as the fact that the water is brackish and not suitable as a source of potable water. However, dilution in this case may not be the simple solution. We also have to remember that this estuary is under tidal effects, which means that the materials may not be going out to sea to be further diluted as quickly as we would like to think. It may be possible that the material will be carried up river as far as the fall line and deposited, or deposited along the river's banks. From Virginia's experience with the pesticide, Kepone, materials may be deposited along the estuary and enter the food chain thereby necessitating the limitation of taking shellfish and commercial, recreational fishing. A major problem in assessing the environmental impact is determining what isotopes and in what forms will be taken up in species of commercial interest or those species that would otherwise contribute to man's exposure. Even though water to the lower James River is brackish, there may be uses for the water that have not been considered before, such as use by desalinization plants. Currently, the City of Virginia Beach has difficulty maintaining an adequate supply of water and there has been some discussion of building desalinization plants. If such a plant were in operation, the health physicist would have to consider the consequences of the material being concentrated and the problems associated with disposal of resins or contamination of the equipment. Most ships distill water while at sea and probably the still would not be operating while in port; however, the brackish water is used for fire fighting and many prove to be a source of contamination on the piers, unless an advisory was issued. At the mouth of the James River is located a major beach resort and in the event of a major release its business would suffer if the radiological conditions were not assessed and communicated effectively to the public promptly. I would like to conclude this discussion by stating that citizens in states surrounding the Chesapeake Bay have become very sensitive to the environment of the Bay and that they no longer tolerate rivers being used as sewers. As health physicists we also need to be sensitive to these issues and be mindful that estuaries are more complicated than a direct sewer drain to the ocean for wastes even though the discharges may be accidental. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1989}
month = {Sep}
}
title = {Concerns in assessing radiological releases to a major estuary}
author = {Foldesi, Leslie P}
abstractNote = {Full text: In the State of Virginia, the James River flows into the Chesapeake Bay and from the mouth of the James River to the fall line the river is under the influence of tidal forces. There are several centers of commerce along the river including an international port of call at the mouth of the James. Associated with the centers of commerce are potential sources of radioactive materials for being released to the river. Two hundred miles inland, the Babcock and Wilcox nuclear fuels processing plants are situated along-side the James River, which has been known to flood its banks quickly in the mountainous regions of Virginia. Storage tanks have been swept downstream from this facility in a previous flood. Fortunately, the tanks were not destroyed. Another source of a possible release is the Suny Nuclear Power Station located on the James River about fifty miles from the Chesapeake Bay. In the cities of Norfolk and Newport News, shipyards are fueling and defueling the Navy's nuclear powered fleet. In addition, many of the Navy's ships are carrying nuclear weapons. These activities may also result in an inadvertent release. In assessing the radiological release from any one of the previously mentioned activities, it is obvious that dilution of the material released into the river is a major factor in dose assessment, as well as the fact that the water is brackish and not suitable as a source of potable water. However, dilution in this case may not be the simple solution. We also have to remember that this estuary is under tidal effects, which means that the materials may not be going out to sea to be further diluted as quickly as we would like to think. It may be possible that the material will be carried up river as far as the fall line and deposited, or deposited along the river's banks. From Virginia's experience with the pesticide, Kepone, materials may be deposited along the estuary and enter the food chain thereby necessitating the limitation of taking shellfish and commercial, recreational fishing. A major problem in assessing the environmental impact is determining what isotopes and in what forms will be taken up in species of commercial interest or those species that would otherwise contribute to man's exposure. Even though water to the lower James River is brackish, there may be uses for the water that have not been considered before, such as use by desalinization plants. Currently, the City of Virginia Beach has difficulty maintaining an adequate supply of water and there has been some discussion of building desalinization plants. If such a plant were in operation, the health physicist would have to consider the consequences of the material being concentrated and the problems associated with disposal of resins or contamination of the equipment. Most ships distill water while at sea and probably the still would not be operating while in port; however, the brackish water is used for fire fighting and many prove to be a source of contamination on the piers, unless an advisory was issued. At the mouth of the James River is located a major beach resort and in the event of a major release its business would suffer if the radiological conditions were not assessed and communicated effectively to the public promptly. I would like to conclude this discussion by stating that citizens in states surrounding the Chesapeake Bay have become very sensitive to the environment of the Bay and that they no longer tolerate rivers being used as sewers. As health physicists we also need to be sensitive to these issues and be mindful that estuaries are more complicated than a direct sewer drain to the ocean for wastes even though the discharges may be accidental. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1989}
month = {Sep}
}