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

Select target paragraph3