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Project 57 Air Monitoring Report: January 1 Through December 31, 2018

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Project 57 Air Monitoring Report: January 1 Through December 31, 2018 DOE/NV/0003590-49 Project 57 Air Monitoring Report: January 1 through December 31, 2018 Prepared by Steve A. Mizell, George Nikolich, John M. Healey, Craig Shadel, John Goreham, Greg McCurdy, and Julianne J. Miller Submitted to U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Nevada Program Las Vegas, Nevada March 2020 Publication No. 45291 Nevada System of Higher Education Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof or its contractors or subcontractors. Available for sale to the public from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5301 Shawnee Rd. Alexandria, VA 22312 Phone: 800.363.2068 Fax: 703.605.6880 Email: [email protected] Online ordering: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/ Available electronically at https://www.osti.gov/ DOE/NV/0003590-49 Project 57 Air Monitoring Report: January 1 through December 31, 2018 Prepared by Steve A. Mizell, George Nikolich, John M. Healey, Craig Shadel, John Goreham, Greg McCurdy, and Julianne J. Miller Desert Research Institute Nevada System of Higher Education Publication No. 45291 Submitted to U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Nevada Program Las Vegas, Nevada March 2020 ________________________ The work upon which this report is based was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract #DE-NA0003590. Approved for public release; further dissemination unlimited. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On April 24, 1957, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) (now the Department of Energy [DOE]) conducted the Project 57 safety experiment in western Emigrant Valley northeast of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) (formerly the Nevada Test Site) on lands withdrawn by the Department of Defense (DOD) for the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The test was undertaken to develop (1) a means of estimating plutonium distribution resulting from a nonnuclear detonation, (2) biomedical evaluation techniques for use in plutonium-laden environments, (3) methods of surface decontamination, and (4) instruments and field procedures for prompt estimation of alpha contamination (Shreve, 1958). Although the test did not result in the fission of nuclear materials, it did disseminate plutonium across the land surface. Following the experiment, the AEC fenced the contaminated area and returned control of the surrounding land to the DOD. Various radiological surveys were performed in the area and in 2007, the DOE expanded the demarked Contamination Area (CA) by posting signs 200 ft to 400 ft (60 m to 120 m) outside of the original fence. Plutonium in soil attaches preferentially to smaller particles (Tamura, 1985; Friesen, 1992; Murarik et al., 1992; Misra et al., 1993). Therefore, redistribution of soil particles by wind (dust) and water are the mechanisms most likely to transport plutonium beyond the boundary of the Project 57 CA. Monitoring was implemented in 2011 by Desert Research Institute (DRI) to determine if radionuclide contamination was detectable in samples of airborne dust and to characterize meteorological and environmental parameters that influence dust transport. Initially, two monitoring stations consisting of radiological, meteorological, and dust sampling equipment were installed near the south and north ends of the eastern boundary of the CA. In January 2015, the original monitoring stations were dismantled and moved farther to the west along the CA boundary. This move was made to place the monitoring stations downwind of ground zero and the High Contamination Area (HCA) during the dominant northerly and southerly winds. Samples of particles suspended in the air are collected every two weeks and submitted to the Radioanalytical Services Laboratory, University of Nevada Las Vegas, to assess gross alpha and gross beta activity, as well as the presence of gamma-emitting radionuclides. In calendar year (CY) 2018, the mean gross alpha concentration at monitoring station P57-4 was approximately 1.53 times the value at monitoring station P57-3. The difference between the mean gross alpha value at P57-3 and P57-4 was similar to the differences observed in CY2015 and CY2016 but well below the difference observed in CY2017. The mean gross alpha concentrations at P57-3 and P57-4 were approximately 2.1 and 3.2 times, respectively, the mean gross alpha concentrations at the surrounding Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) stations. The minimum gross alpha concentrations reported for the Project 57 stations were slightly higher than the minimum values observed at the CEMP stations. However, maximum gross alpha concentrations at the Project 57 stations were notably higher than the maximum concentrations observed at the surrounding CEMP stations. iii Gamma spectroscopy analyses resulted in the detection of four radionuclides, all of which occur in the natural environment. Americium-241 (Am-241) was not detected in the gamma spectroscopy analysis. During each quarter of CY2018, four suspended particulate matter samples (two from each sampling station) were selected for alpha spectroscopy analysis. Each station produced seven samples reported to have positive concentrations of Plutonium-238 (Pu-238) and eight samples reported to have positive concentrations of Plutonium-239+240 (Pu-239+240). Soil material is also transported by saltation, which is a wind-driven phenomenon that bounces sand-sized soil particles across the land surface because they are too heavy to be suspended in the air. Saltation traps were deployed between September 12, 2017, and January 4, 2018 (a 114-day collection period), and between January 4, 2018, and September 10, 2018 (a 249-day collection period). The mass of the saltation samples was determined after oven drying. The September samples had more than three times the mass of the January samples. Although the duration of sampling is a primary factor in the different mass values, differences in precipitation and wind direction and speed during the two collection periods may also have affected dust transport. Radiological analyses of the saltation samples showed that the smaller particle size fraction (<63 µm) generally produced the highest activity levels of Am-241, Pu-238, and Pu-239+240. In general, the isotope activity levels decreased as the particle size increased. These results are consistent with the expectation that the smaller particles have the greatest potential to transport radiological contaminates. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) deployed at the Project 57 monitoring stations are exposed to both natural sources (terrestrial and cosmic) of radiation and radioactive material derived from the Project 57 CA. Estimated annual exposures of 157.3 mR at P57-3 and 169.4 mR at P57-4 were determined from the quarterly TLD readings. These exposure rates are slightly greater than the exposure levels reported for the CEMP stations surrounding the NTTR and they are approximately half of the estimated national average exposure received by the general public from natural sources. Winds in excess of approximately 15 mph (24 km/hr) begin to generate dust movement by saltation or suspension. The mass concentration of saltated particles, PM10 (i.e., inhalable dust), and PM2.5 (i.e., fine particulate dust) exhibit an approximately exponential increase with increasing wind speed. When the wind and dust analyses were performed for winds separated into the dominant northerly and southerly wind directions, it was evident that the southerly winds generated higher PM10 concentrations than the northerly winds. This result is expected because higher wind speeds were associated with the southerly winds. During the year, winds in excess of 20 mph (32 km/hr) occurred approximately 4.0 percent of the time at P57-3 and 2.3 percent of the time at P57-4. Although wind speeds sufficient to generate dust are recorded at the Project 57 monitoring stations, they are infrequent and of short duration. A preliminary assessment of individual wind events suggests that dust generation in response to specific wind conditions is highly variable. Wind speeds expected to generate noticeable dust did not do so in every instance and saltation transport in response to wind iv conditions was uncommon. These variations were likely because of the influence of other meteorological and environmental factors, such as relative humidity and soil moisture content. Monitoring confirmed the movement of radionuclide contaminated soil particles from the Project 57 CA by both suspension and saltation. In 2018, particulate material representing saltation and suspension transport mechanisms was found to have Pu-238 and Pu-239+240 concentrations higher than background. A comparison of dust concentrations and meteorological conditions indicates that transport occurs principally when wind speeds exceed 15 mph (24 km/hr). Other meteorological factors (i.e., precipitation and soil moisture content) also influence the amount of dust moved. Although the measured concentrations of radioactivity are above background levels, they are below risk-based levels of concern for the industrial worker exposure scenario. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................................
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