Radiocesium discharges and subsequent environmental transport at the major US weapons production facilities

Garten, Charles T.; Hamby, D.M.; Schreckhise, R.G.

doi:10.1016/s0048-9697(00)00449-6

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The character of pH dependence found for Pu(V) and Np(V) reduction in the presence of humic derivatives tested was in agreement with that expected from the Nernst equation for hydroquinone moieties: the rate of redox reaction increased with a decrease in pH. According to Garten et al [10], the Oak Ridge Reservation has predominantly acidic soils: the pH values vary between 4.5 and 5.7 and the average value of dissolved oxygen as determined by Liang et al [11] did not exceed 2.36 mg/L. These conditions allow us to expect high reducing performance of hydroquinone-enriched humic derivatives both with respect to Np(V) and Pu(V).…”

Section: Np(v) Reduction By Humic Derivativessupporting

confidence: 85%

Reduction of actinides in higher oxidation states by hydroquinone-enriched humic derivatives

Shcherbina

Калмыков

Perminova

et al. 2007

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

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Section: Np(v) Reduction By Humic Derivativessupporting

confidence: 85%

Reduction of actinides in higher oxidation states by hydroquinone-enriched humic derivatives

Shcherbina

Калмыков

Perminova

et al. 2007

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

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“…Soils from Ash Basins are contaminated with coal combustion waste containing a range of metals and metalloids such as arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se) and Zinc (Zn; Tannenbaum and Beasley, 2016). Pond B is a reservoir that was originally constructed as a secondary cooling system for nuclear production at R Reactor until it was decommissioned in 1964 (McCreedy et al , 1997; Garten et al , 2000). Between 1961 and 1964, R Reactor discharged several radionuclides (e.g., 3 H, 137 Cs, 90 Sr, americium‐241, cerium‐244 and plutonium‐239, 240) into Pond B as effluents.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co‐occurrence of antibiotic, biocide, and heavy metal resistance genes in bacteria from metal and radionuclide contaminated soils at the Savannah River Site

Thomas

Oladeinde

Kieran

et al. 2020

Microbial Biotechnology

102

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Contaminants such as heavy metals may contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by enriching resistance gene determinants via co-selection mechanisms. In the present study, a survey was performed on soils collected from four areas at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA, with varying contaminant profiles: relatively pristine (Upper Three Runs), heavy metals (Ash Basins), radionuclides (Pond B) and heavy metal and radionuclides (Tim's Branch). Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we explored the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities. Sites with legacies of metal and/or radionuclide contamination displayed significantly lower bacterial diversity compared to the reference site. Metagenomic analysis indicated that multidrug and vancomycin antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and metal resistance genes (MRGs) including those associated with copper, arsenic, iron, nickel and zinc were prominent in all soils including the reference site. However, significant differences were found in the relative abundance and diversity of certain ARGs and MRGs in soils with metal/radionuclide contaminated soils compared to the reference site. Co-occurrence patterns revealed significant ARG/MRG subtypes in predominant soil taxa including Acidobacteriaceae, Bradyrhizobium, Mycobacterium, Streptomyces, Verrumicrobium, Actinomadura and Solirubacterales. Overall, the study emphasizes the potential risk of human activities on the dissemination of AMR in the environment.

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“…Cesium-137 is the most significant radionuclide contaminant released during radiological incidents. Cesium-137 is a high-yield contaminant with a long half-life of 30.2 years, is water soluble, and is easily taken up by plants as a biological analog to potassium (Garten et al 2000;Paliouris et al 1994;Saffarzadeh et al 2014;Yoschenko et al 2017). Long after the primary atmospheric 137 Cs has dissipated from contaminated areas, high levels of 137 Cs have been found in vegetation, litter, and concentrated in the top 5 cm of soil (Hejl et al 2012;Paliouris et al 1994;Yoschenko et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

Hao

Baker

Lincoln

et al. 2018

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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If a radiological incident such as a nuclear power plant accident, a radiological dispersal device, or detonation of an improvised nuclear device occurs, significant areas may be contaminated. Initial cleanup priorities would likely focus on populated areas, leaving the forested areas to pass several seasons where the overhead canopy materials would fall to the forest floor. In the event of a wildfire in a radionuclide-contaminated forest, some radionuclides would be emitted in the air while the rest would remain in the ash. This paper reports on a laboratory simulation study that examines the partitioning of cesium-133 (a nonradioactive isotope of cesium) between airborne particulate matter and residual nonentrained ash when pine needles and peat are doped with cesium. Only 1-2.5% of the doped cesium in pine needles was emitted as particulate matter, and most of the cesium was concentrated in the particulate fraction greater than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter. For peat fires, virtually all of the cesium remained in the ash. The results from this study will be used for modeling efforts to assess potential exposure risks to firefighters and the surrounding public.Implications: There is a potential for emissions of radionuclides such as cesium-137 from a wildfire over a radionuclide-contaminated forest. This paper reports on a laboratory simulation study of a wildfire with two types of biomass doped with nonradioactive cesium. This simulation suggests that only 1-2.5% of the cesium in the biomass will be emitted from the wildfire, while the rest will reside in the residual ash. In this study, pine needles were the only contributor to the air emissions of cesium; duff was not a source of cesium emissions. In this study, cesium emitted from the simulated wildfire was concentrated in the particle sizes larger than 10 µm.

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Radiocesium discharges and subsequent environmental transport at the major US weapons production facilities

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Reduction of actinides in higher oxidation states by hydroquinone-enriched humic derivatives

Reduction of actinides in higher oxidation states by hydroquinone-enriched humic derivatives

Co‐occurrence of antibiotic, biocide, and heavy metal resistance genes in bacteria from metal and radionuclide contaminated soils at the Savannah River Site

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

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