ad

Po
ct

14

xO

~

4

QO

ory
Oo m7
yO rs
om 02

g

effective concentration factors should be base
soil water concen
of radionuclides rather than on
the total soil concentraticns.

of

H Os HS
Oo wD
OH ts

Oo
Mm
‘
}

i

Go 2

j

ey

@m

fa

9
©

atoll ecosystem can be controlled by
from the decay of litter dropred from the &

v
ow

OY
tp
BES
oc?"099

Q

1972 survey but which have considerable significance in the ulvinet
lens wat
from the
Preliminery data
men as he reinhebits the atoll.
at Enewetak Atoll indicate that recycling and turnover oe redionucl

S

am

Ps © Ca
G ht ' ¢

recognized by our marine group and emphasized in their researcen progr
The recent research on marine and lens water at Enewetak Atoll reve
important aspects of the terrestrial ecolcgy that were not evicen~

xs‘

7
Cys fitf
‘
nn
m

The importance of the recycling and turnover times of radionuclide

§
on

in Scil, Soil Water, ans Encus

4

Distributicn of Radionuclides

te

2,

Further research is required (1) to clserify the role of groundwater in

controlling the disappearance of radionuclides in the Atoll, (2) to determine
D +

ct tes

m9
Oo

ct
°o
a

2

QD

j-

}-

ny

i

9

the actual contentratic

rc)
Ye

the actual cycling process involved in order to evaluate potenviel metiods of
blocking nuclide untske in plant species in the food chain, (
groundwater concentrsts
concentration Pactors
concentration in soil
ot zone with the concent
water, to nely describe the time-cerendence of radionuclides

groundwater /lenis-water system.
Therefore, soil cores will be obt
northern islends (e.s5. Janet, Belle) in and around the plantins
cores Will be analyzed by leaching the coil with reasents acp

water solutions to determine tne rracvien cf soil redionuclic
available to tne plants. Also, the humic fracticn cf the soi
from tne carbonate matrix to determine which portion contains
Sr.

:

If the humic fraction end soil water comsein the redicectivity and thus
constitute the source of available radionuclides for the slants, then concentrsiicn
factors can be cetermnined Tor the various Tood ond indicator vtlants Tor Cs, Sr,
and Pu. Concentration factors determined previously frcem soil neve varied over
@& wide range perhaps because the total soil concentretion is net the critical
factor. Therefore, predictive evaluations could b e easmore reliable by
developing concentration factors based upon soil water

rether

then upon soil.

There is some question whether the plants of the Atoll are really shallow,

surface-rooted or whether they may actuslly use lens water for growtn

the lens is of very low saline content.

where

Lysimeters will be installed in soil

pits to collect soil-water through-flow to determine the radicnuclide concent
profile as water moves downwerd toward tne lens.
The concentretions of
radionuclides will be compared with those in soil water extracted from the

surface horizons of the soil. When u rece Gata are evailable, concentration
factors can be calculated for sr, 1 31¢s and Pu, to provide acditional estinates
of the rate of input of radionuclides into the len water from the soil column.

Select target paragraph3