ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY. Report for the Year 1955 Page: 17 of 31
This report is part of the collection entitled: Office of Scientific & Technical Information Technical Reports and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
15
Concentrations of beta activity found in Sawmill Creek
water are summarized in Table V. Although some beta activity was added
to the stream in ANL waste water, considerably larger amounts were added
from fission product fallout, with the result that the average total beta
activity (39 Apc/liter) was the same in water from both locations. The beta
activity added in ANL waste water can be distinguished from fallout activ-
ity by comparing the total beta activity in upstream and downstream water
collected on the same day during periods of little fallout, and by comparing
the concentrations of long-lived fission products (e.g., Sr90 and Cel ) during
periods of high fallout. From March to June most of the added beta activity
in the Creek was due to fallout from recent atomic detonations, although a
few samples contained contaminated waste water. During the remainder of
the year, Laboratory waste water provided the principal source of radio-
active contamination in the Creek. The beta activity added in Laboratory
waste water averaged 15 to 20 pc/liter. Fallout contamination was five
to ten times higher.
Concentrations of Sr90 in downstream water were low,
averaging only 6.7 ppic/liter in the three samples in which it was detected.
This was a significant decrease from 1954, when 12 samples contained an
average of 24 )upc Sr90/liter.
On April 20, 118,000 gallons of waste water containing
960 jijc/liter of total beta activity and 27.9 c/liter of Sr90 were discharged
into Sawmill Creek from a water storage lagoon. Creek water collected
prior to the discharge of this waste water contained about 160 ppc/liter of
beta activity, primarily due to fallout from an 0.8-inch rainfall on that day.
The Creek was sampled again while the waste water was being discharged,
and while the fallout activity was still high, the Sr90 content in below site
water was 5.0 u c/liter; this indicates a dilution factor of about five in the
Creek, Most of this dilution was due to the heavy rainfall; normal dilution
factors for the stream are considerably lower. The Sr90 found in the Creek
was contributed by the waste water, since the Sr90 content of upstream
water on that day was very low.
Sawmill Creek empties into the Des Plaines River about
500 yards downstream from the waste water outfall, and water from the
Des Plaines River was sampled above and below the mouth of Sawmill
Creek to measure the effect of the latter stream on the radioactive content
of the Des Plaines River. The results, given in Table VI, indicate that
Sawmill Creek water was sufficiently diluted so that the radioactivity in
the ANL waste water had no detectable effect on the activity in the
Des Plaines River. The total alpha activity, uranium concentration, and
total beta activity (Table VI), except for the downstream sample in March,
were essentially the same both above and below the mouth of Sawmill Creek.
The high beta activity in the downstream sample in March was due to fresh
fallout activity from a nuclear detonation. This was indicated by the rate of
decay of the beta activity, and the large concentration of short-lived fission
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Sedlet, J. ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY. Report for the Year 1955, report, February 1, 1957; Lemont, Illinois. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1018722/m1/17/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.