ACCIOEMT MODRL
(HON-NTS PRoattans)
CHRNEGALIZED NTS
Fu
GEMERAUATEO
NTS
MODEL
MorBL
Fig AL
WALARDA
KSESSMENT
STupies
Bio LOGic aL
GENERALITED Py
FINAL
Cvbean -oP
A
275
LITERATURE
(NROT
voem
ASSEBMENT
SURFACE Prevysics:
+ HOST PaARTIicL eas
INCORPORATION into THE DOW
Surerace INTERFACE
Pu
Pu
BRLOGICAL
STUDIES, we.,
Pu SOLUBILITY
STLDIES
IMATIAL
HAZARDS
ASSESSMENT
|
GUIDANCE
plan for meeting the above objectives is diagramed in Fig. 1.
IWTiAL
CLEAN-UP
The Resuspension Element of the Nevada Applied Ecology Group (NAEG) was
formed to undertake the task of studying the movement of plutonium at
the Nevada Test Site’(NTS) by wind-driven forces and assessing the
potential biological hazards associated with airborne plutonium parti~
cles. The element also was to provide input to the Nevada Operations
Office of the Atomic Energy Commission regarding cleanup of plutontumcontaminated areas. This involvement gave the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) Bio-Medical Division an opportunity to study fundamental
processes involved in the resuspension of plutonium particles from a
soil surface, and to develop a time and spatial dependent mathematical
model describing average concentration of airborne plutonium as a
function of the source (geometrical configuration, soil surface characteristics) and driving forces. It is intended that the model will also
provide the necessary input to models of Tung dynamics of plutonium
behavior in the human respiratory tract. The NAEG Resuspension Element's
LUNG COSE
ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
SPECIFIC
J
Dust DeviL>
SALTATION CREEP
PARTICLE CONCENTRATION
Experience and data gathered at the GMX site were used to derive simple
predictive models for air concentrations of plutonium due to resuspension on the Eniwetok Atoll.
SovuRcE Tame:
Pus SURFACE COonTaAMib aT ice
PLANTA CFovwaae Dae CoucmeTtia’on}
FIELD EXPERIMENTS:
Soeettatéo
Pu AI? ConcesTwaTion
WITH
Ae EO
Ma TEOROLONY
from the cascade impactors showed that the ratio of 23932"[py to #4! Am
activity is the same as reported for soil in the vicinity of the cascade impactors. Preliminary results from the ultrahigh-volume air sampler runs indicate a gross correlation between many of the wind speedrelated parameters and the concentration of resuspended plutonium.
AIR SassPL incr:
220s AZ SAMPLES
PARTICLE SPECTROMETERS
PARTICLE ANALTSIS
activity of 890 dpm/g, or about one-third of that found in the soil
in close proximity to the cascade impactors, was measured. Particle data
FIG. |. THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FIELD EXPERIMENT
(DATA GATHERING) AND OBJECTIVES OF NAEG.
Experimental results have also shown that there is no obvious correlation of specific Pu activity with particle size. An average specific
Fa AMALTSS
found to be distributed distinctly differently with a smaller median
aerodynamic diameter and a larger geometric mean. The data also showed
that the fraction of the resuspended plutonium aerosol at GMK which
would be expected to undergo pulmonary depositions to be approximately
0,2 based upon the ICRP Task Group on Lung Dynamics model.
_
Lg— — —- —— — fm
three species *38py, 239,2%0py, and 24)Am. The total mass, however, was
ARES M TRANSPORT
Measurements using cascade impactor studies indicate that there is no
difference in the distribution of activity with particle size for the
SPecisic
the presently accepted maximum permissible concentration for occupational exposure. It was also concluded that the air concentrations of
239pu in Mercury may be influenced by the local NTS sources.
ATGA
QM NAEG
STuUPasS
WePUET JOUTPUT:
Puy TRANSPORT
resuspension source. However, the average air concentration of resus-
pended 779Py outside the exclusion area is only a small fraction of