Surface water samples were collected from streams on and around the Savannah River Site (SRS) to assess current 3H, 99Tc, and 129I concentrations in the water. The SRS is a nuclear facility operated by Westinghouse Savannah River Company for the US Department of Energy. Water quality parameters were measured at the time of collection using field portable instrumentation. The tritium activity was determined by liquid scintillation spectrometry. The isotopes, 99Tc and 129I, were determined by isotope dilution/inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (D.M. Beals, Determination of technetium-99 in aqueous samples by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Vienna, September 1992, unpublished data; D.M. Beals, P. Chastagner and P.K. Turner, Analysis of iodine-129 in aqueous samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Presented at the 38th Annual Conference on Bioassay, Analytical and Environmental Radiochemistry, Santa Fe, NM, November 1992). Elevated activities of 3H, 99Tc, and 129I were found in some surface streams of the SRS, principally due to migration of ground water from beneath old seepage basins, however the levels in the waters leaving the SRS are well below any regulatory guidelines.
Ice rafting is the dominant mechanism responsible for the transport of fine-grained sediments from coastal zones to the deep Arctic Basin. Therefore, the drift of ice-rafted debris (IRD) could be a significant transport mechanism from the shelf to the deep basin for radionuclides originating from nuclear fuel cycle activities and released to coastal Arctic regions of the former Soviet Union.In this study, 28 samples of IRD collected from the Arctic ice pack during expeditions in 1989 -95 were analyzed for 137 Cs by gamma spectrometry and for 239 Pu and 240 Pu by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. 137 Cs concentrations in the IRD ranged from less than 0.2 to 78 Bq·kg -1 (dry weight basis). The two samples with the highest 137 Cs concentrations were collected in the vicinity of Franz Josef Land, and their backward trajectories suggest origins in the Kara Sea. Among the lowest 137 Cs values are seven measured on sediments entrained on the North American shelf in 1989 and 1995, and sampled on the shelf less than six months later.Concentrations of 239 Pu + 240 Pu ranged from about 0.02 to 1.8 Bq·kg -1 . The two highest values came from samples collected in the central Canada Basin and near Spitsbergen; calculated backward trajectories suggest at least 14 years of circulation in the Canada Basin in the former case, and an origin near Severnaya Zemlya (at the Kara Sea/Laptev Sea boundary) in the latter case. While most of the IRD samples showed 240 Pu/ 239 Pu ratios near the mean global fallout value of 0.185, five of the samples had lower ratios, in the 0.119 to 0.166 range, indicative of mixtures of Pu from fallout and from the reprocessing of weapons-grade Pu. The backward trajectories of these five samples suggest origins in the Kara Sea or near Severnaya Zemlya.RÉSUMÉ. Le transport glaciel constitue le principal mécanisme responsable du transport des sédiments à grain fin depuis les zones côtières jusqu'à la fosse du bassin Arctique. La dérive des débris du transport glaciel pourrait constituer un important mécanisme de transport, depuis la plate-forme continentale jusqu'à la fosse marine, pour des radionucléides provenant d'activités connexes au cycle du combustible nucléaire, radionucléides qui sont éliminés vers les zones côtières arctiques de l'ancienne Union Soviétique.Dans cette étude, on a analysé 28 échantillons de débris de transport glaciel recueillis dans la glace arctique au cours d'expéditions effectuées de 1989 à 1995, en vue d'y déceler du 137 Cs par spectrométrie gamma ainsi que du 239 Pu et du 240 Pu par spectrométrie de masse réalisée par thermo-ionisation. Les concentrations de 137 Cs dans les débris de transport glaciel allaient de moins de 0,2 à 78 Bq·kg -1 (poids sec). Les deux échantillons ayant les concentrations en 137 Cs les plus élevées ont été recueillis à proximité de l'archipel François-Joseph, et leurs trajectoires régressives suggèrent qu'ils proviennent de la mer de Kara. Parmi les plus faibles valeurs de 137 Cs, sept ont été mesurées sur des sédiments arrivés sur la plate-forme ...
Prepared for lhc L.'. 5. Departrt, er_t.of Energy w,der contract No. DE.-.AC()9--89SR1803.5 _ASTER _._ DISTT_BU'_O_O_ rt.4fSD,OCUME!NT tSUNLIMI"I_£'D DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of fl_eUnited States Government.
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