Effects from effluents of an incinerator for waste of low level activity in the environment

In the incinerator for radioactive waste of the Federal Institute for Reactor Research the contents of 2230 barrels of 200 l have been burned from September 1975 to March 1976. The 44 tons of low level radioactive waste were of various origins (hospitals, industry, nuclear installations). During and after the incineration, samples have been collected in the immediate and near environment of the installation. These samples (sedimented dust (fall-out and wash-out)), grass and barley are analysed in the health physics laboratories of the Institute. Measures show that very little radioactivity was released (e.g. about 40 mCi tot. β+γ). Between 50 and 450 m from the 25-meters stack of the incinerator during the whole period there have been collected on dust-collectors about 2 nCi/m2 (β+γ), at 1km, in one of the main wind directions, 0,35 nCi/m2. It seems that the deposited radioactivity does not exceed the mean values registered on grass before the incineration periods. The radioisotopes from the facility which could be identified on the samples are Cs-137 (as the most important nuclide), Cs-134, Rh/Ru-106, Ce-144 and Co-60. The only exception was a higher activity on one dust-collector 50 m from the source (0,4 nCi of Ce-144 within 14 days), which is certainly due to a hot particle. Most of the released radioactivity was deposited within a few km2 in the next vicinity of the incinerator