INTRODUCTION

An important objective of the Nevada Applied Ecology Group (NAEG) program is

to estimate the total amount (inventory) and geographical distribution of
radionuclides in vegetation of fallout areas resulting from "safety tests" in

which a chemical explosive was detonated in close proximity to assemblies of
plutonium and/or uranium.
Estimates of the total amounts of plutonium and

uranium for vegetation at each site are given here.

These were obtained using

stratified random sampling wherein vegetation samples were collected adjacent
to random soil locations within strata

(subregions)

at each site.

The inventory

estimates for vegetation reported here for plutonium represent data from about
60 percent of the samples collected and analyzed from the fallout areas.

Inventory estimates for uranium. are preliminary in the sense that only about
20 percent of the total number of vegetation samples collected for estimating
inventory have been analyzed for uranium.
Updated estimates for plutonium and
uranium will be given in future progress reports when these data become avail-

able.

METHODS

Attention is directed to earlier progress reports for details of methods
concerning the collection and processing of soil and vegetation samples (Gilbert
and Eberhardt, 1974; Gilbert et al., 1975a; Romney et al., 1974, 1975) for
determining 239°249py and 241Am contents (Major et al., 1974) in order to

derive inventory estimates for the aged fallout areas.
Estimates of inventory
were obtained using the corrected stratum area estimates (Gilbert, 1977).
Estimates of the standing biomass of perennial vegetation were made for each
test area using nondestructive, dimensional measurements.
Procedural details

and calculations involving this method have been previously reported (Romney
et al., 1974; Wallace and Romney, 1972).

Some data for uranium radionuclides in soil and vegetation samples collected
from Area 11, Site A, were reported previously (Gilbert and Eberhardt, 1976;
Gilbert et al., 1975b).
Results reported herein include data from analyses of

additional vegetation samples from other study sites by the contract analytical
laboratories.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Estimated Inventory of Plutonium for Vegetation of Fallout Areas
Estimates for the vegetational biomass of the different study areas are given
in Table 1.
Highest estimates were obtained from the study sites located on

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