Historical records of radioactive contamination in biota at the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site

Abstract

This document summarizes and reports a literature search of 85 environmental monitoring records of wildl ife and vegetation (biota) at the 200 East Area and the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site since 1965. These records were published annually and provided the majority of the data in this report. Additional sources of data have included records of specific facilities, such as site characterization documents and preoperational environmental surveys. These documents have been released for public use. Records before 1965 were still being researched and therefore not included in this document. The intent of compiling these data into a single source was to identify past and current concentrations of radionuclides in biota at specific facilities and waste sites within each operable unit that may be used to help guide cleanup activities in the 200 Areas to be completed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Liability Act (CERCLA). The 200 East Area and 200 West Area were the locations of the Hanford Site separation and process facilities and waste management units. These Areas, consisting of about 40 km, were centrally located within the Hanford Site about 10 km south of the Columbia River and 30 km northwest of Richland, Washington (Figure 1). For the purposes of this document, a sample was of interest if a Geiger-Mueller counter equipped with a pancake probe indicated beta/gamma emitting radioactivity above 200 counts per minute (cpm), or if laboratory radioanalyses indicated a radionucl ide concentration equaled or exceeded 10 picocuries per gram (pCi/g). About 4,500 individual cases of monitoring for radionuclide uptake or transport in biota in the 200 Areas environs were included in the documents reviewed. About 1,900 (i.e., 42%) of these biota had radi onucl ide concentrations in excess of 10 pCi /g. These radi onucl i de transport or uptake cases were distributed among 45 species of wildlife (primarily small mammals and feces) and 30 species of vegetation. The wildl ife species most commonly associated with radioactive contamination were the house mouse and the deer mouse and of vegetation species, the Russian thistle. The data showed that the highest radionuclide concentration in vegetation was in Russian thistle (3.2Et06 pCi/g of strontium-90) in 1981 at the 216-BC Cribs. As a comparison, the WHC strontium-90 soil standard for releasing an area from radiological controls in the 200 Areas is 2.8E+03 pCi/g. Since 1965, there have been about 1,100 cases of radionuclide uptake by vegetation in the 200 Areas that resulted in radioactivity greater than 200 cpm or in concentrations greater than l.OE+Ol pCi/g. The highest radionuclide concentration in wildlife (6.6E+10 pCi/g of strontium-90) was in a house mouse from 241-BX Tank Farm in 1991. Since 1965, there have been about 830 cases of radionuclide uptake by wildlife, nearly all small mammals or feces, in the 200 Areas that resulted in concentrations greater than l.OE+Ol pCi/g. of the 50 highest radionuclide concentrations found in biota in the 200 Area...

Environmental Science and Research Foundation annual technical report: Calendar year 1996

“…but had not been capped as of the end of 1996. covers was revegetated with a mixture of native grasses but has since been fairly heavily colonized by three invader species: Russian thistle (Salsola kali), summer cypress (Kochia scoparia), and Jim Hill mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum). Root penetration into waste areas and plant uptake of radionuclides has been well documented at other sites (Arthur 1982, Johnson et al 1994, Paine et al 1979) with levels being recorded as high as 3.2 x lo6 pCi g-' of 90Sr in Russian thistle at the Hanford site in Washington (Johnson et al 1994). Vegetation uptake of radionuclides has been documented at the INEEL.…”

Historical Site Assessment: Select Hanford Reach National Monument Lands --

“…Various species of wildlife and plants have the potential to transport contaminants from one point to another. Insects (fruit flies), birds (waterfowl, perching birds, swallows, pigeons, raptors), rabbits, deer, elk, and coyotes have been implicated in the transport of contaminants at the Hanford Site in the past (Johnson et al 1994;Caldwell and Rickard 1979;O'Farrell et al 1973). Contaminants may be available for biotic uptake through a variety of sources.…”

Fall 1998 200 East area biological vector contamination report

“…Before the current incident, 70 biota species (45 animal and 30 vegetation) had been identified in the Hanford Site's 200 Areas environs as being involved in uptake or transport of radioactivity (Johnson et al 1994). Some flying insects, such as bees and wasps, previously had been found to be contaminated but were quickly eradicated in those few instances.…”