Radioactive Contamination in the Environs of the Hanford Works for the Period October, November, December, 1949

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During the qur t tr, the cird dir cc tion seth in the seperatlora =rea pv zi led fron the northvest nith vj rh ble nind directions in th s vici-nity of thxi 1OG fmos, mph3 suarwslzing the vid directions and velocity during this F2rIad jn? Irzcludod \r',th i! reference t o their effect on tho pattern of t.he est rih ff on of 1-231 cn vag-

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At;sOspharic radiation levels a3 determined bs fixed and detachable ionization c.bmter did not differ significantly from those levels usually encountered i n tu3 mea, Cerasol bcta actiVitjj and 1-131 concentrations i n tha atnosphere rer&ad essent kl ly the mtcd during the green run period of Decemter 2 nnd 3 , 1949 Then abnormally high conc cnt rz t ions of rai ion ct ive stack effluent nere dincharged into the atnosphere, Jkasmn ents for 3ctL.m particles in the atmosphere indicated a dacrease fraa the soter.4t higher numbers detected during September; curre@ estimations i n a c 3 t e 3 rett o norrd. conditions, Slight lncreases3n the nmbr af active particles insids som of the operatiozs buildings i n tb sepzrations areas nere noted during t.Sis period ar :,he cases nere attributed to local conditions. us noted i n previous months except for the momentary increases Ihnitor5ng for radioacttve- cont dm tion in the 100, 200, and 300 !ma vaste s;stePs &id not differ significantly from norwl levels previously observed; s a 2evietians arrrl fluctuations such as srd1 increases in the level of o c t i v i e of the bum mates zre discussed, It vas estimted, based on aom rnsek sttdr of lam into t!! ktzndry ditch and USmnp in o one week priod, hs anticipated,d th the decreased Mon o f the Colunbia River during tbis period corresponding increases i n the activity of the river ~ CF Cobs emd, Beta eni tter s i.pproac.h5ng 2425 ups/likr mere rxastlred i n river sanples W e n ne= Earfard; 300500 ppc / liter mre nenscred i n sanphs tslcen from near Kennewick an12 Pesco, contaninstion i n other vater sapplies using the Columbia as the source of supply tre ?iscusse&; nonc of these surveys indiczted significant de det ions from nom1or antic ipote d ccnriiticnse . &dicacti-;a contmination in rain 2nd snov falloved the nard patterns eye c ted \;fth the exception of the green run pcriod &en activity i n rain smples cere 2s high Levels o f clph;? acti - dty measured i n drinking notor did not dc via to from the levels r;casured in past surveys. Uraniun, prestmzbly occurring in natural q wt i ties continued t o 'co found in sme Richlard drinking = tor supplies; m average value of 21 ug U / l i t e r rrztcr 170s rzasured in a Denton City Yell; this ne11 is representative 0 the highest level of urcniun i n the drinking ratcr of this gonernl mea, Complete htn 02 e n rrater a d - pes are Frssentcd 13 the forn of tables 3 6 grzphs, i

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llovenbr, and December, 1949, includes o n l y that data nbich irere recorded and ohserved during the actual hours o f cetal dissolution, t!= t'eteorology Group of the Health Instrument Divisiors for the d a i l y & hours prThe measurenents mre =& by ids ; the d2ta which nere representative of=the p rio ds durisg which radioactive zas$s nere emitted t o the atmosphere nere extracted by the SiteS wy Group. Fi-ures 1 t h o u g h 4 summrize the observed and recorcied wind conditions graphic ally. Figure I presents the three nonth average nind direction &ta as recorded at +,he 200 foot level atthe Keteorologj Towr near tke 200 %st ha. Tha moteorological. data at the 200 foot le-re1 zrc used as tMs height i s most comparable nith the height o f tke stack emitting the redioactive gases. tk north zest quadrant; the nort3est conponont contributed 23 per cent ar' the dnd and t h e :lest conponent cor-tributed 24. per cent of the Rind. A &dunun o f nind was recorded from the easter lj colzponents; all soutbrly directions accounted for approuiG13teLj 25 p r cent of the air& &grin, the south and southrest directions acco&tad for the bAg:her velocity rhd s ; the mzLsimum nind velocity measured during t b quarter 172s 55 nile3 Fer hour on Hovember 27, 1949, The nii d direction data present& i n Figure Imyb favorably compared nith the iso-activiYj pattern of deposited radionctivc cc n td ration on vegetation (see Figure 6). olo&y Tomr. T?s Octoter and Novemtxr direction data corresponded favorably with tke quzrtcrly average a t this location; horevor, an incrsasing amount ol" nird vas noticed from the southzest direction during the month of Recec'ker. It f a significant tht 5kc cast ai72 northeast conpone.?'cs agair, ahoned a fininurn 02 r;ind. rid io ect ive ccntzninztion on vcgetation. The occ asic rd trrce qu zn ti ties of 1-91

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&d conponents .md their carrasponding higher velocities, 100 mas, This grzph por'zays the diff men ces in prcvziling nicd directions nhich ~ CCW at the 100 Lrces and a t the 200 I7est Meteorology Tor:er, tf.9 LOO kea loco t lam represent observations made a t elevstlons less t b 50 feet abcve ground; the 200 Yest data represent-observations mde a t 200 feet ab0y.n~ g o - Icvel, This elen tion difference could possibly zccount for sacs cf t : ~d irec5im sam tion scrod e at levEls from 50 feet above pund to 400 fi?et.abcve ground, differences i n and v clo city noy te encountered, but ra roly in direction. I n the vic fn it jr of the 100 ikwzs tb wind prcvalled fro~l'the north ~ s tabout 5 t o 10 p r cent of thE t ke and shout 25 t o 35 p r cent of tiii ffna in the 200 pest ob so md fron the northnest rtas nearly icbn tico l to that amotlnt observed frost b tho eorthy o f ncntion is the fact thzt in tha 100 fmcs, the anout of Least chercas the ecst - direct i cn accounted for the d num mount of Rind Fn tb.2 2CO Yest !.rea. Zeteorolcgical records rmre not avdlable from the 1004 Ice3fcr the ke south 32 p r cent of tk tin?. t o prcvcil e t the ot%r monitoring l xc t ions, The northrest, southvest, and northwest &ecClims Figure 4 is 2 gr3pI-d~aumnction o f the stzospheric dilution factors as deter r he i

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The corzplete absence of rah durLng the e sly part of this quarter na3 broken when 1.47 inches of r z n fell during November. The t o w precipitation durfng NOTe n b r exceeded that during October and Decomber bp a factor of almost flfteen, conF1ot.e kb td ation of the rain fd. data and the bta activtty measured in & sa-. ples, is presented in Section PI of this q ort. The first measured snowfall occurred on Decembr 1 5 , homver a trace m o u n t of snos ne3 detected on Octoter 23. inch s. The total snoTfaU during tb quzrter was 0.65 (Please refer to Figures 1,2,3, exxi 4)

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S,- and 5.5 b y xenon (Xo-133) calculated t o have been released during dissolution of .::- m dia ted wunium durir4 Octo~r-~Jovember-Decembcr, 1949. The calculations a m hscd an the s4eir;hts and cooll.?g time of each batch of irradiated uraniun nhich i.3 di3sOl\lr?d, but does n o t represent the actual amounts of radioactive gases rrhich ::ere li'3c;rited ig to t la ztcosphere. The calc*dation does not include corrcctions fer tb Ett j nti on of the radioactive gases in the dissolver and does tlot correct for the Month Curies 1-131 Ccrics Xe-132 Curies 1-1-31 Curics We-132 1-131 Xe-133 * There figures include the radioactive gases formed during the exp cri w n tal diseolution of one ton of irradiated manium cooled only 16 days. This oxperi=.?tal data of this expr in s nt is included in a report issuod w.dcr 3epcrate covcr. Figure 5 presents the calculated amount of 1-131 released i n the dissolver unit2 during uranium d is sol c tion for each day during the period. nith the exception o f the green run, the cooling t k e s f o r it-anium dissolved during this period ranged from 83 to 101 days. Due tothe large mount of activity released a t the tim of the green run, it 1788 necessary t o present the results of the senpling program for this quartsr in t r ; ~ iag the Oaza before and after the green ruu, For the main part this section w i l l Is

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house, The 1-131 2cC1idt7 fouzd zlong Route 3 rrhic!i ssses the 200 Tast Gat&xxza

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Several off-zrca su voy s nere corpleted during Octclxr crd IJovenbcr, iljscd on s mp les collected et five and ten nile intervals in thc region bounded by bniz - ton, Spokane, EUensburg, and Maryhill, the overall avar3':e 1-131 oct id t ? off tk site ras less than 2 mpc/kg. Figure 7 shorn- t h e extent of this sumt37, the *a_from each sznpling locztion. L sFecial survey of the Yeki1r2-Ellensh1~rg region khich TOE coc;plcted h t c i n September aha?ed general 1-131 activfty deposition conpcucblo u it ht bt found in the later survey, (2) 1: significant incizease in the 1-131 activity on vegetation occurred i-nn&tely l f t c r the dissolvfng of t5o green run on 3ecenter 3. Table XI sumarfzes the results of the vegetation sapling progran for th pehd previous to, cnd the period irn?dicrtely after the seen ru, Hear the 200 Lrezs

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ed by wth Falls, Ellcnsbrg, Kettle Faus, end Baker,ncrc? sampled, The rxgxkm 1-131 activity measured after the green run vas found inside the 230 Pest &ea nhere a s,mple collected near the perimeter fence 6 i r e c t l y east of tka ~ .tstio nareas and ~2.0.15near5y Route 3. The deposited 1-131 ect iv it y on wgetcrtion outside of the 200 ryest perincter fencc and rrfthin a r~diusof four miles of tho The pattern of the deposited 1-131 on vcgetation tcn2ed t o elongate in a northeas%yrd southslrest direction fron the stack, th greater dep sitio np red dm ting to the south in tho V'icinfty o f tho abqt rise of the iforse i?eaven Hills nhera ti= zvorzge 1-131 on vegetation was btnecn I ami 2 =/leg. The uxiznum 1-131 activity measured in this region -'as 4.3 p / k g in a sanple collected 0,l to 0.5 ,uc/kg rrfcyfi the exception of tno s m l l isolated are3s in nhfch the 1-131 activity vas betmen 0.5 a d 1.0 trc/kg. sistently shop the leg:%$ 1-131 activity on the slop, These zre tho identical seas which conSevcntjr saclples tlere o5tained f r o n the Benton Cap of Rattlesnake E!ountdn over z six mile s t r i p 17hicfi incluied elevations fran about 400 feet t o 3600 feet above see nkerc the 1-131 s w e n l s d 1.7 pc/kg as conpared with an avenge of 0.5 and 0.3 yc/kg "ga;" and lncludas tha elevation and Zjs';Cmce scales, TIS deposition vas highest on the plateau at nn elemtian of about 1900 f e e t The higher deposition on tbi? -a olevation of 1900 fcet, on the nga$' dz53q this priod nas 3.2 pc/kg in esan ~ l ccollected at

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southnest of the 200 Eest ,kea, the 1-131 activity on vegetation ranged ht7E-n 0.1 .A 0.5 yc/kg. Thi3 m a included the corn unities of Coldendale, i'.rliw,sr.,?I~- b OOUth, Ta1I.a Valja, Odessa, and Moses Lake. The v e g e b ~ o nsurveys after t:= green run vcre extended t o Mount Hood, KL nth Falls, and Baker, south o f the 8bc-, kt tle Falls to the north. kt iv it y from 2-131.a t these extreme 1oc;lti.o- fluctu2t& ~ o u dths background leva1 of the 1-131 analyses falling k hen 10-20 g c / k ? , During Octoker and Noventer, the saxe samples which were rreasured f o r 1 2 ~ 1act-

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Ve gek tion sap les collected mithin the residentiel acts of Richland, PSCO, finnszlck, Ijenton City, and the Richland T, shoved an avcrzp nan-volekilo ztctivit; of zbt 10 mpc/kg. Tho reporting level for this dysis is setat 10 muc/l;g which is currently considered to be the background level of non-volatile k tz activity in vc pt at fon in this region due t o tho naturally occurring isotope of potclssitrn (K+) x-csant in the potassPm salts of the vegetation.

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The airborne cont ad nation and air radiation levcls a t tSe Fa.?ford za-.b vie= ':~C?S observed zn2 =corded from ezch pkso of this progrm are discussed sero - tcly, The air radi tio a levels as moasurod by the fixed Victorcen I-?tcgror.a ?hi& are locited along the primtar fence of all opcrating areas and in tb vicinity or' the ;:pubted residential arcas adjacsnt t o the Ibn ford * orb skorcd very litt la trend ~ c k ~ k l ci on iz ation cfiaxhrs; these hackgrourds vary ketzcen 0.3 zzd 0.5 c%F/Zhoms. Although thc mer23 dosage rates nesured at Pasco and ?iverLird oppnr to

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Radiation levels inah mre also measured by means of detachable ionizatioE fqve feet off thc p o u n d and locatad a t randca on and adjacent t o the sits, The frz- .uencg or' reeciing t h e detachable clutters %erebased on the trcnd o f previous results 2nd on t h czpecity of t b s c?z&ar at a given locntion. Normlly this frequency was cent cbanges or trerds obssrved during t.6 qmrter. The higher dosage rates v s e obaarwd at loc et ions new to, and directly doimvicd from t h separation ares st a cl rs, lh general, tha existing Coszge rate vdthin a radius or' five miles of tke se~mztion. m e s vcs about 1,O nrep/24 hocrs; t s s figure included the natural tac.kgrow.d rrhich varies b e t m e n 0.3 ar,d 0.5 rxep per 24 hour3. Average doszge rtatcs o f 1.0 mrep/a hours nere observed a t .z fen locations nci rly ten rhiles fron the separaticn arecs, eech of these loc nti cns vas directly domzind fron the prew-iling rind direction The atmospheric radiation lever he17 exceeded tSe wernge bckground iz it bb

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At mite Bluffs k te oro loa 2CU f Route le, Eiile 1 * Chackrs found t o ke leaking a-?d data voided. ** The dosage rt+ves tabulated include the background o f the chamters Fed mhich -Z frcln about 0.3 t o 0.5 m rep Fr 24 hours. *** Neu location establishsd during tke quarter.

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i. revein of the …