ANL-14/01 Surveillance of Site A and Plot M Report for 2013 Environment, Safety, and Quality Assurance About Argonne National Laboratory Argonne is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. The Laboratory’s main facility is outside Chicago, at 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439. For information about Argonne and its pioneering science and technology programs, see www.anl.gov. 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Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor UChicago Argonne, LLC, nor any of their employees or officers, 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. 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. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. ANL-14/01 Surveillance of Site A and Plot M Report for 2013 by Lawrence P. Moos Environment, Safety, and Quality Assurance Division, Argonne National Laboratory May 2014 Page intentionally left blank ii PREFACE This report is prepared for the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the Environment, Safety, and Quality Assurance Division (ESQ) at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne). The results of the environmental monitoring program at Site A and Plot M and an assessment of the impact of the site on the environment and the public are presented in this publication. Funding to support this program was provided by the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) through the DOE Grand Junction Office. Sample collection and field measurements were conducted under the direction of Larry Moos of the ESQ Environmental Monitoring Group by: Jenny Gomez Rob Piorkowski John Dyer Matt Nagrodski The analytical separations, measurements and data management were conducted under the direction of Theresa Davis of ESQ Environmental Protection by: Gerald Baudino Alan Demkovich Robert Froom Mary Salisbury Anil Thakkar Jennifer Tucker Bettylou Wahl John Dyer Matt Nagrodski This manuscript was typed and prepared for publication by Terri Schneider (ESQ). iii Page intentionally left blank iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..........................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii 1.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 1-1 2.0 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 2-1 1.1 Site History ........................................................................................................... 2-1 1.2 Site Characteristics............................................................................................... 2-5 3.0 MONITORING PROGRAM ....................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Purpose of Monitoring Program .......................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Structure of Monitoring Program ......................................................................... 3-2 3.3 Surface Water........................................................................................................ 3-3 3.4 Subsurface Water .................................................................................................. 3-6 3.4.1 Monitoring Wells – Plot M ......................................................................... 3-6 3.4.2 Monitoring Wells – Site A ........................................................................ 3-14 3.4.3 Dolomite Well Water ................................................................................ 3-18 3.4.4 Former Picnic Wells ................................................................................. 3-21 4.0 SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL RADIATION DOSE AND RISK ESTIMATES ............................................................................................. 4-1 4.1 Dose Estimates ..................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Risk Estimates ..................................................................................................... 4-2 5.0 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM ..................................................................... 5-1 5.1 Applicable Standards ............................................................................................ 5-2 5.2 Analytical Methods ............................................................................................... 5-2 5.3 Intercomparison Program...................................................................................... 5-2 6.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 6-1 7.0 DISTRIBUTION FOR ANL-14/01 .............................................................................. 7-1 v LIST OF TABLES No. Title Page 3.1 Hydrogen-3 Content of Stream Next to Plot M, 2013 ................................................... 3-5 3.2 Hydrogen-3 Content of Site A Area Ponds, 2013.......................................................... 3-5 3.3 Hydrogen-3 Content of Plot M Monitoring Well Water, 2013 .................................... 3-8 3.4 Water Level Measurements in Monitoring Wells Near Plot M, 2013 ......................... 3-13 3.5 Strontium-90 Content of Monitoring Well Water Samples Near Plot M, 2013 ........................................................................................................ 3-14 3.6 Hydrogen-3 Content of Monitoring Well Water Samples Near Site A, 2013 ............ 3-16 3.7 Strontium-90 Content of Monitoring Well Water Samples Near Site A, 2013 ........... 3-16 3.8 Water Level Measurements in Monitoring Wells Near Site A, 2013 .......................... 3-17 3.9 Hydrogen-3 Content of Dolomite Well Water, 2013 ................................................... 3-20 3.10 Water Level Measurements in Dolomite Wells, 2013 ................................................ 3-22 3.11 Hydrogen-3 Content of Former Picnic Wells Near Site A/Plot M, 2013 ................... 3-23 3.12 Annual Maximum and Average Hydrogen-3 Concentrations in the Red Gate Woods Wells ...................................................................................... 3-23 4.1 Dose from Continuous Exposure to Hydrogen-3 at Selected Locations, 2013 ............. 4-3 4.2 Estimates of Hydrogen-3 Exposures to a Casual Visitor to Plot M, 2013 ..................... 4-3 4.3 Annual Average Dose Equivalent in the U. S. Population ............................................ 4-4 4.4 Risk of Death from Various Events ............................................................................... 4-5 5.1 Intercomparison Sample Hydrogen-3 Results for 2013 ................................................. 5-3 5.2 Intercomparison Sample Stontium-90 Results for 2013 ................................................ 5-4 5.3 Intercomparison Sample Cesium-137 Results for 2013 ................................................ 5-5 vi vii LIST OF FIGURES No. Title Page 2.1 Location of Palos Forest Preserve on Chicago-Area Map .............................................. 2-2 2.2 Palos Forest Preserve Showing Location of Site A/Plot M Surface Water Bodies and Former Picnic Wells .......................................................................... 2-3 3.1 Stream Sampling Locations near Plot M ......................................................................... 3-4 3.2 Map of Plot M Palos Site Showing Topography, Intermittent Stream and Monitoring Well Locations ...................................................... 3-7 3.3 Hydrogen-3 and Groundwater Elevation in Well BH02 ................................................