O R N •_ - 4 8 4 8 NVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES DIVISION ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT PERIOD ENDING! SEPTEMBER 30.1972 BLANK PAGE Printed in thii United States of America. Available from National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce 5785 Port Royal Road, Springfield. Virginia 22151 Price. Printed Copy $3.00 M^rofiche $0.95 This report A/as prepared as an accouiu of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor ti«j United States Atom'.c Energy Commission, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. ORNL-4848 UC-48 - Biology and Medicine Environmental Sciences Oivision Publication No. 4SG Contract No. W-7405-eng-26 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES DIVISION ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT For Period Ending September 30,1972 S. I. Auerbach. Director D. J. Nelson, Assistant Director E. G. Struxness. Assistant Director —NOTICE- Thi» tenor r.«s prepared as an account of _„_ sponsored by tfce United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United Sates Atomic Energy Commission, <«*; say of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assume i any legal liability or responsibisty for the accuracy, com- pUteness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that in use would not infringe prmtely owned rights. FEBRUARY 1973 OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830 operated by UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION for the US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION CISTRIBUTION Of THIFHIS DOffOCuTNAflTONUMC a Contents PREFACE vii 1. RADIONUCLIDE CYCLING IN TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS 1 Soil Chemistry 2 Root-Soil Relations 2 Radionuclide Cycling in the Detritus-Soil-Root Pathway 3 Food Chzin Dynamics 4 Ecosystem Dynamics 6 Scientific Application 6 2. WALKER BRANCH WATERSHED: A STUDY OF TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC SYSTEM INTERACTION 9 Terrestrial Studies 10 Aquatic S adies 17 Hydrologic Studies 17 3. INTERNATIONAL BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM: OAK RIDGE SITE 20 Meteorological Research 21 Carbon Fixation and Photosynthate Translocation 22 Turnover of Organic Detritus 24 Recycling of Nutrient Elements 27 Terrestrial Ecosystem Model 29 4. PROGRAM APPLICATIONS 34 Columnar Denitrification Studies 34 Terrestrial Disposal of Industrial Effluents 7i Survey of Ozone Production Association with Energy Production Facilities 36 Environmental Effects of Cooling Tower Drift 37 IBP Woodlands Workshop 37 5. EASTERN DECIDUOUS FOREST BIOMF. US INTERNATIONAL BIOLOGICAL PROGRAM 39 Management 39 Biorr.e and Regional Analysis 40 iii 1 BLANK PAGE • f ' : •"I • ';& a Analysis and Modeling 41 Biome Information Center 44 6. RADIATION EFFECTS IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS 45 Scope 45 Effects of Simulated Fallout Radiation Deposits on Pollen Viability 45 Radial Growth of Pimu echinata around an Unshielded Reactor 46 Fadiation Effects and Radionuclide Excretion in a Natural Population of Pine Voles 46 Responses of Arthropods to Ionizing Radiation 47 7. APPLIED SOILS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT STUDIES 49 Characterization of Plutonium-Contaminated Soil from the Nevada Test Site 49 Plugging of Boreholes 50 8. TOXIC MATERIALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT 52 Environmental Monitoring of Toxic Materials in Ecosystems 52 Zonal Centrirugation: Applied Aspects in Elucidating Chemical and Biological Forms, Distribution, and Availability of Heavy Metals in the Environment 54 Toxic Metals in Lake and Stream Sediments 55 Ecology of Toxic Metals 56 9. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS EVALUATION 59 Development of Radiation Safety Guides for Environmental Releases of Radioactivity 60 Radiological Support Activities for Environmental Impact Statement Preparation 60 Characterization of die Radioactivity in Liquid Effluents from Light-Water 61 Power Reactors 61 Development of Computer Capabilities for Estimating Radiation Dose 62 Radiation Doses from Hypothetical Exposures to Rulison Gas 63 ECOFTT; A Hybrid Computer Program for Iterative Fitting of Analog Computer Models to Digital Data and Performing Error Propagation Analysis 64 Dose Estimations for the Hypothetical Use of Nuclearly Stimulated Natural Gas in die Cherokee Electric Generating Plant 54 Computer Techniques for Estimating and Controlling Tritium Doses from Nuclearly Stimulated Natural Gas 65 Estimation of the Contribution of Radon in Natural Gas to Natural Radiation Doses in Homes 66 The Relative Risks from Radionuclides Found in Nuclearly Stimulated Natural Gas 67 Development of Sampling and Analytical Techniques to Measure Air Circulation and Residence Times in Homes 68 Tritium Behavior in a Natural Gas Processing Plant 69 V 10. THERMAL EFFECTS 71 Scope 71 Annual Review of Thermal Effects Literature 71 Effect of Cold Shock on Susceptibility of Juvenile Fishes to Predation 71 Effects of Temperature and Other Environmental Factors on the Growth and Development of Myriophyllum spicatum L 72 Temperature and Fish Growth 73 Effects of Acute Thermal Shock on Carp Eggs 74 Acoustic Temperature Telemetry from Free-Swimming Fish 75 Effect of Temperature on Rate of Food Consumption and Phosphorus Turnover in a Benthic Invertebrate 75 Population Dynamics of Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis 77 11. APPLIED AQUATIC STUDIES 79 Radionuclides in the Sediments of White Oak Creek and White Oak Lake 79 Tritium Behavior in Fish from a Chronically Contaminated Lake 80 Long-Term Cytogenetic Studies on Chironomus tentans 80 Effects of Radiation and Temperature on the Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus 81 Radiation Effects on Aquatic Communities 81 The Niche-Variation Hypothesis: An Experimental Study with Drosophila Populations 82 Chlorination Effects on Sewage Effluents and Natural Waters 83 12. ECOLOGICAL SCIENCES INFORMATION CENTER 86 13. EDUCATION 88 Scope 88 Educational Activities 88 14. FOREST MANAGEMENT 90 PUBUCATIONS, PAPERS, LECTURES, THESES, AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 9! Publications 91 Papers 99 Lectures 102 Theses 106 Professional Activities 106 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES DIVISION PUBUCATIONS Ill Preface The past yeat was another one of dynamic change for related mathematics ihat pervades all programs of the the Division. Most noticeable is a name change - from Division is now coordinated by Robert V. O'Neill, and a Ecological Sciences to Environmental Sciences - which Long Range Planning Committee was established w.th reflects the broadened missions and research programs Jerry S. Olson serving as Chairman. of the Division. Under this new rubric, more emphasis is Changes in physical facilities accompanied the placed on strengthening the Earth Sciences and the changes in organization. Building 3504, formerly used radiological hazards analysis capabilities in the Labora­ for radioactive waste management studies, was assigned tory, with particular emphasis on the environmental to the Division for housing the radiological hazards pathways associated with transport, accumulation, and analysis and earth sciences groups. A new aquatic dose to human populations. Edward G. Struxness, who research laboratory for thermal studies (BIdg 1504) was had been Assistant Director of the Health Physics completed and put into operation. Division, joined the Division as Assistant Director with Activities associated with analysis of environmental particular responsibilities for the radiological hazards impacts of nuclear power plants and related facilities analysts and assessment programs, and the applied continued to challenge a large portion of the technical programs related to radioactive waste management, staff. To help meet this need as wel! as to augment the while continuing his comprehensive Laboratory respon­ Division's programs in aquatic and earth sciences, 12 sibilities as Director of the Environmental Impact new scientists joined the Division. These were selected Statement Project. after the most intensive search and recruitment activ­ Organizational changes in the Division last year ities in the Division's history. Each brings a special included th? establishment of an Environmental ability in his area of expertise and offers great promise Hazards Studies Project under Stephen V. Kaye, who for strengthening our total research program. has responsibility for the radiological hazards analysis While ihese major changes were taking place, the and assessment programs, and the establishment of a Division continued its long-term efforts in Ecosystem new NSF-RANN program in Ecology and Analysis of Analysis, including additional research in the Cesium Toxic Contamina. The Division's responsibilities in this Forest and Walker Branch Watershed, and augmented program are encompassed by the Toxic Materials in the its already strong research and managerial participation Environment Project under Robert I. Van Hook. The in the International Biological Program. aquatic research was reorganize*! with B. Gordon It has been an exciting, demanding, and dynamic year Blaylock assuming responsibility for leadership of the for the Environmental Sciences Division. Our contribu­ new Applied Aquatic Studies which consolidated previ­ tions as well as our potential for aiding the AEC in its ously separate work on radionuclide cycling and radia­ missions have rece.ved increasing recognition. We look tion effects in aquatic systems as well as basic research forward,