Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

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Persistent identifier:: 856665355

Title:: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

Sub title:: techniques and impacts ; September 17 - 21, 1990, Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Year of publication:: 1990

Place of publication:: Victoria, BC

Publisher of the original:: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar]

Identifier (digital):: 856665355

Language:: English

Document type:: Multivolume work

Volume

Persistent identifier:: 856669164

Title:: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

Sub title:: techniques and impacts; September 17 - 21, 1990, Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Scope:: XIV, 912 Seiten

Year of publication:: 1990

Place of publication:: Victoria, BC

Publisher of the original:: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar]

Identifier (digital):: 856669164

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten

Signature of the source:: ZS 312(28,7,1)

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Editor:: International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Commission of Photographic and Remote Sensing Data

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Volume

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: [THP-3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT]

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Chapter

Title:: MONITORING THE HANFORD SITE AND SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT: LONG-TERM TRENDS. Robert H. Gray

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

MONITORING THE HANFORD SITE AND SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT: LONG-TERM TRENDS Robert H. Gray, Manager, Office of Hanford Environment, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA. ABSTRACT Environmental monitoring has been conducted on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site for 45 years. Current monitoring objectives are to detect and assess potential impacts of facility operations on air, surface and ground water, soil, vegetation, foodstuffs, fish and wildlife. Data from monitoring efforts are used to calculate the overall radiological dose to humans working onsite or residing in nearby communities. In 1988, measured Hanford Site perimeter concentrations of airborne radionuclides were below applicable DOE and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Tritium and nitrate continued to be the most widespread constituents in onsite ground water. Chromium, cyanide, fluoride and carbon tetrachloride were found in ground water near operating wells. Concentrations of radionuclides and nonradiological water quality in the Columbia River were in compliance with applicable standards. Foodstuffs irrigated with river water taken downstream of the Site showed low levels of radionuclides that were similar to concentrations in foodstuffs from control areas (i.e., foodstuffs not irrigated with Columbia River water). Low levels of 90 Sr and 137 Cs in some onsite wildlife samples were typical of those attributable to worldwide fallout, as were concentrations of radionuclides in soils and vegetation from onsite and offsite locations. The calculated effective dose potentially received by a maximally exposed individual (i.e., a hypothetical individual using worst-case assumptions for all routes of exposure) in 1988 (0.08 mrem/yr) was similar to doses calculated for 1985 through 1987. In addition to monitoring radioactivity in fish and wildlife, population numbers of key species are determined. Chinook salmon (Oncorhvnchus tshawvtscha) spawning in the Columbia River at Hanford has increased in recent years with a concomitant increase in the number of bald eagles (Haliaeetus 1eucocephalus) that overwinter onsite. The Site also serves as a nesting area and refuge for great basin Canada goose (Branta canadensis moffitti) and great blue heron (Ardea herodias), and supports stable or growing populations of elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), coyote (Canis 1atrans), and a variety of plants and other animals. KEY WORDS: Environmental Monitoring, Radionuclides, Chemicals, Fish, Wildlife INTRODUCTION The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site occupies a land area of about 1,450 km 2 (560 mi 2 ) in semi-arid southeastern Washington, U.S.A. (Figure 1). The Columbia River flows through the Site and forms part of its eastern boundary. Flow of the Columbia River is regu lated daily according to electric power demands. Although the river was once closed to public access, public use for recreational and barge traffic is again practical. The southwestern portion of the Site includes the southern ter minus of the Rattlesnake Hills with elevations exceeding 1,000 m. Both unconfined and confined aquifers lie beneath the Site. Nuclear and non-nuclear industrial and research activities have been conducted at Hanford since 1943. The most environmentally significant acti vities have involved the production of nuclear materials and the chemical processing and waste management associated with the major product, plutonium. Byproduct wastes have included gamma, beta, and alpha-emitting radionuclides and various nonradioactive chemicals in gaseous, liquid and solid forms. There are currently four major DOE operations areas on the Hanford Site (Figure 1). The 100 Areas located along the Columbia River in clude the dual-purpose N Reactor that produced plutonium for national defense and steam for the Hanford Generating Project (HGP), operated by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), and eight, now deactivated single-purpose, plu tonium production reactors. The plutonium uranium extraction (PUREX) plant (reactor fuel reprocessing), plutonium finishing plant (Z Plant), and waste-disposal facilities are located in the 200 Areas on a plateau (elevation 229 m) about 11.3 km west of the Columbia River. The 300 Area, located just north of Richland, Washington contains the uranium fuel manufacturing facilities in support of N Reactor, and research and development laboratories. The Fast Flux Test Facility which has operated intermittently since 1981 to test new fuels and materials for future breeder reactor technology is located in the 400 Area. Nongovernment facilities within Hanford Site boundaries include HGP, the WPPSS nuclear plant (WNP) sites, WNP-1, WNP-2 and WNP-4, including one commercial reactor (WNP-2) that achieved full operational status in the fall of 1984, and a commercial low-level radioactive-waste burial site near the 200 Areas, operated by U.S. Ecology. The Advanced Nuclear Fuels Corp. (for merly Exxon) fuel fabrication facility is imme diately adjacent to, but not located on, Hanford Site property. Environmental monitoring has been conducted at Hanford for over 45 years. The monitoring program is designed to assess potential impacts to individuals and populations that may be exposed to radionuclides, ionizing radiation and hazardous chemicals. Environmental monitoring currently includes air, surface and ground water, soil, vegetation, foodstuffs (fruits, vegetables, milk), fish and wildlife. Fish and wildlife are monitored for radioactivity and to determine the population status of key species. RADIOLOGICAL MONITORING Air Potential airborne transport of stack releases containing radionuclides from Hanford facilities offers a direct pathway for human exposure. 678

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