Radionuclide concentrations in vegetation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1998

Gonzales, G. J. ; Fresquez, P. R. ; Mullen, M. A. ; L. Naranjo, Jr.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

关键词: 63 Radiation, Thermal, And Other Environmental Pollutant Effects On Living Organisms And Biological Materials;    Plants;    Uranium;    Americium 241;    Tritium;   

DOI  :  10.2172/753205
RP-ID  :  LA-13704-PR
RP-ID  :  W-7405-ENG-36
RP-ID  :  753205

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

This report summarizes and evaluates the concentrations of {sup 3}H, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, {sup 241}Am, {sup 90}Sr, and total U in understory and overstory vegetation collected from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), its perimeter, and regional background areas in 1998. Comparisons to conservative toxicity reference value safe limits were also made. The arithmetic mean LANL radionuclide concentrations in understory were 501 pCi L{sup {minus}1} for {sup 3}H, 0.581 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 137}Cs, 0.001 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 238}Pu, 0.008 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 239,240}Pu, 0.007 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 241}Am, 1.46 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 90}Sr, and 0.233 {micro}g ash g{sup {minus}1} for total uranium. The mean LANL radionuclide concentrations in overstory were 463 pCi L{sup {minus}1} for {sup 3}H, 1.51 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 137}Cs, 0.0004 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} {sup 238}Pu, 0.008 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 239,240}Pu, 0.014 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 241}Am, 1.97 pCi ash g{sup {minus}1} for {sup 90}Sr, and 0.388 {micro}g ash g{sup {minus}1} for total uranium. Concentrations of radionuclides and total U in both understory and overstory vegetation at LANL generally were not statistically higher than in perimeter and regional background vegetation ({alpha} = 0.05). The exceptions were LANL {sup 3}H > perimeter {sup 3}H (understory) and LANL {sup 3}H background {sup 3}H (overstory). All maximum radionuclide concentrations were lower than toxicity reference values. With the exception of total U, the relationship between contaminant concentration in soil vs. vegetation was insignificant ({alpha} = 0.05). Generally, as the concentration of total U in soil decreased, the concentration in vegetation increased. This held true for both understory and overstory and regardless of whether data were separated by general location (LANL, perimeter, and background) or not. There was no apparent relationship between contaminant concentrations in understory vs. overstory.