A WISE RESOLUTION OF THE PU-CONTAMINATED
LANDS PROBLEM IN CERTAIN PARTS OF NTS MAY BE
TO ISOLATE AND MAINTAIN THEM WITHOUT FURTHER DISTURBANCES :
A POSITION PAPER
William A.
Rhoads
EG&G, Inc.
Santa Barbara Operations
Goleta,
California
Editor's note:
Although this paper was not part of the NAEG workshop
discussions,
the thoughts expressed by Dr. Rhoads
result from his participation in NAEG activities and
are included as his position statement.
Readers are also referred to the views expressed by
Wallace and Romney, "Feasibility and Alternate Procedures
for Decontamination and Post-Treatment Management of
Pu-Contaminated Areas in Nevada," in Report NVO-153,
1975, The Radtoecology of Plutontum and Other Transuranics
in Desert Environments (White and Dunaway, Eds.).
INTRODUCTION
There are a number of areas of limited extent on, or adjacent to,
the Nevada Test Site (NTS) which have been contaminated with the
radioactive element plutonium.
In most cases,
these areas have
resulted from tests of Pu-containing nuclear devices for safe
storage and handling as an essential part of the national defense.
In most cases, also, scattering of Pu was caused by chemical high
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