Cesium in the Savannah River Site environment

Carlton, W.H.; Bauer, L.R.; Evans, A.G.; Geary, L.A.; Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Pinder, J.E.; Strom, R.N.

doi:10.2172/6914212

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…Because cesium has a strong affinity for sediments, the majority of the released material was adsorbed to the sediments and deposited with them in the Steel Creek floodplain. An inventory of the sediments at 1991 decay-corrected concentrations estimated that 8 curies of cesium were upstream of L Reactor, 30 curies were between L Reactor and the Steel Creek delta, 20 curies were in the delta, and 8 curies were in lower Steel Creek, between the delta and the creek mouth Carlton et al 1992). …”

Section: Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SRS Ecology Environmental Information Document

Wike¹,

Martín²,

Nelson³

et al. 2006

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Section: Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SRS Ecology Environmental Information Document

Wike¹,

Martín²,

Nelson³

et al. 2006

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“…During processing, the reactors produced materials consisting of tritium (3H), uranium (U), plutonium (Pu) and ancillary fission products. The fission of 235U in fuel elements during normal operations, as well as leaks in storage containments, released 137Cs into the environment and, consequently, contaminated SRS terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (Carlton et al 1992;Gaines et al 2000). Although technically a strong beta radionuclide, 137Cs is in a metastable state with 137Ba, a gamma-emitting radionuclide, with a physical half-life of 2.552 min.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicodynamic modeling of 137Cs to estimate white-tailed deer background levels for the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site

Gaines

Novak

Bobryk

et al. 2014

Environ Monit Assess

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The U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) is a former nuclear weapon material production and current research facility adjacent to the Savannah River in South Carolina, USA. The purpose of this study was to determine the background radiocesium (137Cs) body burden (e.g., from global fallout) for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) inhabiting the SRS. To differentiate what the background burden is for the SRS versus 137Cs obtained from SRS nuclear activities, data were analyzed spatially, temporally and compared to other off-site hunting areas near the SRS. The specific objectives of this study were: to compare SRS and offsite deer herds based on time and space; to interpret comparisons based on how data were collected as well as the effect of environmental and anthropogenic influences; to determine what the ecological half-life/decay rate is for 137Cs in the SRS deer herd; and to give a recommendation to what should be considered the background 137Cs level in the SRS deer herd. Based on the available information and analyses, it is recommended that the determination of what is considered background for the SRS deer herd be derived from data collected from the SRS deer herd itself and not offsite collections for a variety of reasons. Offsite data show extreme variability most likely due to environmental factors such as soil type and land-use patterns (e.g., forest, agriculture, residential activities). This can be seen fromresultswhere samples from offsite military bases (Fort Jackson and Fort Stewart) without anthropogenic 137Cs sources were much higher than both the SRS and a nearby (Sandhills) study site. Moreover, deer from private hunting grounds have the potential to be baited with corn, thus artificially lowering their 137Cs body burdens compared to other freeranging deer. Additionally, sample size for offsite collections were not robust enough to calculate a temporal decay curve with an upper confidence level to determine if the herds are following predicted radioactive decay rates like the SRS or if the variability is due to those points described above. Using mean yearly values, the ecological half-life for 137Cs body burdens for SRS white-tailed deer was determined to be 28.79 years-very close to the 30.2 years physical half-life.

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“…Contaminants that are 13 chemically and/or physically sequestered in a media are less likely to be bio-available to plants and 14 therefore an ecosystem. 15 It is widely accepted that the sorption capacity of a soil, particularly particle size distribution 16 (sand, silt and clay percentages) and mineralogy, play a large role in the availability of radionuclides 17 to plants. 2,3,4,5 However, these parameters are unable to account for the variations of concentrations 18 found in different plant species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approximately 148 GBq of radiocesium have been released into the atmosphere and 43 approximately 70,300 GBq of radiocesium have been released to seepage basins and streams, largely 44 resulting from spills. 15 Most of the radiocesium that was released to on-site streams primarily 45 adsorbed to stream or impoundment sediments near the point of release. Concentrations of Cs 46 suspended in the water column are very low, with sediments retaining over 90% of the total inventory 47…”

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confidence: 99%

Plants as bio-monitors for Cs-137, Pu-238, Pu-239,240 and K-40 at the Savannah River Site

et al. 2011

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. 1 Introduction 1The nuclear fuel cycle generates a considerable amount of radioactive waste, which often 2 includes nuclear fission products, such as strontium-90 ( 90 Sr) and cesium-137 ( 137 Cs), and actinides 3 such as uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu). When released into the environment, large quantities of 4 these radionuclides can present considerable problems to man and biota due to their radioactive 5 nature and, in some cases as with the actinides, their chemical toxicity. Radionuclides are expected 6 to decay at a known rate. Yet, research has shown the rate of elimination from an ecosystem to differ 7 from the decay rate due to physical, chemical and biological processes that remove the contaminant 8 or reduce its biological availability. 1 Knowledge regarding the rate by which a contaminant is 9 eliminated from an ecosystem (ecological half-life) is important for evaluating the duration and 10 potential severity of risk. To better understand a contaminants impact on an environment, 11 consideration should be given to plants. As primary producers, they represent an important mode of 12 contamination transfer from sediments and soils into the food chain. Contaminants that are 13 chemically and/or physically sequestered in a media are less likely to be bio-available to plants and 14 therefore an ecosystem. 15It is widely accepted that the sorption capacity of a soil, particularly particle size distribution 16 (sand, silt and clay percentages) and mineralogy, play a large role in the availability of radionuclides 17 to plants. 2,3,4,5 However, these parameters are unable to account for the variations of concentrations 18 found in different plant species. 6,7,8,9 Plants will often accumulate contamination as a consequence of 19 mineral and nutrient attainment. Plants that have shown an ability to accumulate high concentrations 20 of radionuclides have garnered recent interest for their potential to act as bio-monitors in helping 21 identify areas of ecological and transport risk. 10 The purpose of this study was to reexamine 22 established and identify potential new plant species that are active accumulators of radionuclides in 23 terrestrial, lotic and lentic environments. 11,12,13 As such, this study took place in an area known to be 24 impacted by nuclear processing: the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina (SC). The 25 SRS is a Dept. of Energy (DOE) site that produced primarily tritium and Pu used in the fabrication of 26 nuclear weapons from 1952 to 1988. The SRS utilized natural streams, series of canals and 27 reservoirs to disperse heat from nuclear reactors. As a result of routine discharges, routine leaks in 28 the heat exchangers, and occasional leaks in fuel and core elements, over 50 radionuclides were 29 released to the atmosphere, to onsite streams, and to seepage basins. 14 Since production was halted in 30 the late 1980s, the primary mission of the DOE at the SRS has been environmental cleanup. 31Macrophytes and stream-side terrestrial plants from areas impacted by operations...

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Cesium in the Savannah River Site environment

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

SRS Ecology Environmental Information Document

SRS Ecology Environmental Information Document

Toxicodynamic modeling of 137Cs to estimate white-tailed deer background levels for the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site

Plants as bio-monitors for Cs-137, Pu-238, Pu-239,240 and K-40 at the Savannah River Site

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