The Ecological Export of Plutonium from a Reprocessing Waste Pond

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Abstract
A reprocessing waste pond at Hanford [Washington, USA] was inventoried to determine quantities of Pu accumulated since its formation in 1944. Expressions of export were developed from these inventory data and from informed assumptions about the vectors that act to mobilize material containing Pu. This 14 acre pond provides a realistic illustration of the mobility of Pu in a lentic ecosystem. The ecological behavior of Pu in this pond is similar to that in other contaminated aquatic systems having widely differing limnological characteristics. Since its creation, this pond received about 1 Ci of 239,240Pu and 238Pu, most of which was retained by its sediments. Submerged plants, mainly diatoms and Potamogeton, accumulate > 95% of the Pu contained in biota. Emergent insects are the only direct biological route of export, mobilizing about 5 .times. 103 nCi of Pu annually, which is also the estimated maximum quantity of the Pu exported by waterfowl, birds and mammals collectively. There is no apparent significant export by wind, and it is not likely that Pu migrated to the ground water via percolation. Although this pond has a rapid flushing rate, a eutrophic nutrient supply with a diverse biotic profile and is in contact with an active terrestrial environment, it appears to effectively bind Pu and prevent it from entering pathways to man and other life.

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