Surveillance of Site A and Plot M report for 1991
The results of the environmental surveillance program conducted at Site A/Plot M in the Palos Forest Preserve area for CY 1991 are presented. The surveillance program is the ongoing remedial action that resulted from the 1976--1978 radiological characterization of the site. That study determined that very low levels of hydrogen-3 (as tritiated water) had migrated from the burial ground and were present in two nearby hand-pumped picnic wells. The current program consists of sample collection and analysis of air, surface and subsurface water, and bottom sediment. The results of the analyses are used to (1) determine the migration pathway of water from the burial ground (Plot M) to the hand-pumped picnic wells, (2) establish if buried radionuclides other than hydrogen-3 have migrated, and (3) generally characterize the radiological environment of the area. Hydrogen-3 in the Red Gate Woods picnic wells was still detected this year, but the average and maximum concentrations were significantly less than found earlier. Tritiated water continues to be detected in a number of wells, boreholes, dolomite holes, and surface stream. For many years it was the only radionclide found to have migrated in measurable quantities. Analyses since 1984 have indicated the presence of low levels of strontium-90 in water from a number of borehole next to Plot M. The available data does not allow a firm conclusion as to whether the presence of this nuclide represents recent migration or movement that may have occurred before Plot M was capped. The results of the surveillance program continue to indicate that the radioactivity remaining at Site A/Plot M does not endanger the health or safety of the public visiting the site or those living in the vicinity.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 5046547
- Report Number(s):
- ANL-92/13; ON: DE92015979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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AIR
MONITORING
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
ANL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
GROUND WATER
PUBLIC LANDS
REMEDIAL ACTION
SEDIMENTS
SURFACE WATERS
TRITIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
DATA ANALYSIS
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ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
QUALITY ASSURANCE
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION PROTECTION
SAMPLING
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
WATER WELLS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBONATE MINERALS
DOSES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLUIDS
GASES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
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LIGHT NUCLEI
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOISOTOPES
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US DOE
US ERDA
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WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER
WELLS
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