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Emery, R.M.; Klopfer, D.C.; McShane, M.C.
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)1977
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)1977
AbstractAbstract
[en] A reprocessing waste pond at Hanford has been inventoried to determine quantities of plutonium (Pu) that have been accumulated since its formation in 1944. Expressions of export were developed from these inventory data and from informed assumptions about the vectors which act to mobilize material containing Pu. This 14-acre pond provides a realistic illustration of the mobility of Pu in a lentic ecosystem. The ecological behavior of Pu in this pond is similar to that in other contaminated aquatic systems having widely differing limnological characteristics. Since its creation, this pond has received about one Ci of 239,240Pu and 238Pu, most of which has been retained by its sediments. Submerged plants, mainly diatoms and Potamogeton, accumulate >95% of the Pu contained in biota. Emergent insects are the only direct biological route of export, mobilizing about 5 x 103 nCi of Pu annually, which is also the estimated maximum quantity of the Pu exported by waterfowl, birds and mammals collectively. There is no apparent significant export by wind, and it is not likely that Pu has migrated to the ground water below U-Pond via percolation. Although this pond has a rapid flushing rate, a eutrophic nutrient supply with a diverse biotic profile, and interacts with an active terrestrial environment, it appears to effectively bind Pu and prevent it from entering pathways to man and other life
Original Title
238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu
Primary Subject
Secondary Subject
Source
Sep 1977; 44 p; Available from NTIS., PC A03/MF A01
Record Type
Report
Report Number
Country of publication
ACTINIDE NUCLEI, ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES, ANIMALS, ARTHROPODS, ECOSYSTEMS, EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI, EVEN-ODD NUCLEI, HEAVY NUCLEI, INVERTEBRATES, ISOTOPES, NUCLEI, PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES, RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS, RADIOISOTOPES, SEPARATION PROCESSES, SURFACE WATERS, VERTEBRATES, WASTES, YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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