Human health risk assessment and remediation activities at White Oak Creek Embayment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Cesium-137 concentrations of >10{sup 6} Bq/kg dry wt (10{sup 4} pCi/g dry wt) were found in the surface sediments of White Oak Creek Embayment (WOCE) during 1990. A review of past data indicated Cesium-137, among other contaminants, was released from White Oak dam in the mid 1950s and had accumulated in the sediment of WOCE. The sediments from WOCE were being eroded and transported downstream primarily during winter low-water levels by flood events and by a combination of normal downstream flow and water turbulence. Sampling was conducted to determine the extent of radiological and nonradiological contamination. A contaminant screening analysis was conducted to determine which contaminants pose a problem from a human health standpoint. All noncarcinogens had screening indices of <1.0, indicating that concentrations of noncarcinogens were below the levels of concern for a realistic maximum exposure situation. An illegal intruder or an individual using the embayment for fishing purposes could be exposed to >10{sup 4} risk of excess lifetime cancer incidence from external exposure to Cesium-137 in sediment and from ingestion of polychlorinated biphenyls in fish. As a result of these analyses and the fact that >10{sup 6} Bq/kg dry wt (10{sup 4} pCi/g dry wt) of Cesium-137 could be transported from the Oak Ridge Reservation, a coffer-cell dam was constructed at the mouth of White Oak Creek in 1992 to: (1) reduce sediment erosion and the transport of radioactive sediments from the WOCE into the Clinch River, (2) maintain year-round inundation of the embayment sediments to reduce external radiation exposure, and (3) impede the movement of fish into and out of the embayment. The effectiveness of this remediation is being evaluated.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 75820
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940650-; TRN: 95:003127-0010
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 19. annual conference and exposition of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP): global strategies for environmental issues, New Orleans, LA (United States), 12-15 Jun 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of 19th Annual conference & exposition: Global strategies for environmental issues; PB: 100 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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