radioactive contamination of water at the santa susana field … · 2007-03-06 · at the santa...
TRANSCRIPT
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Radioactive Contamination of WaterAt the Santa Susana Field Laboratory
ByDaniel Hirsch
Committee to Bridge the Gap
Presentation to SSFL InterAgency Work GroupCommunity Meeting
April 2006
Supported by a Grant from the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical
Assessment Fund
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Tritium
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Bldg 10 -- Site of SNAP8ERReactor Accident
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Key Facts About Tritium
• Radioactive Isotope of Tritium• Forms Radioactive Water - HTO (one of the
hydrogen atoms in the water molecule isradioactive)
• It is not dissolved in the water; it is thewater.
• Can’t be filtered out.
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Tritium Facts Continued
• Moves faster than any other radionuclide inwater
• Generally the leading edge of a contaminantplume
• 12.3 year half life (dangerous ~250 years)• Permissible level in drinking water: 20,000
pico-Curies per liter (pCi/L)• Background tritium levels are ~10 pCi/L
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Tritium Findings cont’d.
• >20 wells have had statistically significantlevels of tritium in groundwater samples,exceeding background
• Tritium levels are currently as high as119,000 pCi/L
• More than 110 samples have tested positivefor elevated tritium
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DHS Conclusions
• “It is evident from these sampling resultsthat tritium is present at elevatedconcentrations in groundwater….”
• “Tritium concentrations in some wells notidentified as containing statisticallysignificant tritium concentrations are likelyelevated also….”
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DHS Conclusions (cont’d.)
• “The wells containing the highestconcentrations are located down gradientfrom the former test reactor locations inSSFL Area IV.”
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What do these Tritium factstell us?
• Tritium found now at 119,000 pCi/L is SIX timesthe permissible level and 20,000 times background
• If the spill occurred~1957, when reactor activityreally got going at SSFL, 4 half lives of tritiumhave passed (49 years/12.3=4)
• So tritium concentrations originally would havebeen 1,900,000 pCi/L
• That is 95 times the Safe Drinking Water level
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Tritium Implications (cont’d)
• But that assumes there has been no dilutionor migration in half a century
• Infiltrating rainwater dilutes tritium ingroundwater
• Migration of groundwater dilutes it as well• So the true peak concentrations could have
been far higher than 95 times “safe” levels
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Implications (cont’d)
• Because tritium can’t be filtered, if therewere a mix of radionuclides in water, it istritium you would expect to find in filteredsamples
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Tritium Not Diminishing OverTime -- Continuing New Source?
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Up and Down Pattern Indicativeof Slugs of Add’l Tritium?
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Adequacy of DOE/RocketdyneResponse
• DOE & Rocketdyne failed to measure fortritium for decades
• Only when EPA’s Gregg Dempsey did hisinspection in 1989 did the issue arise
• He was told they had no tritiummeasurements, so he took samples from afrench drain
• HE FOUND TRITIUM
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Adequacy of Response (cont’d)
• Subsequent additional measurements foundmore tritium
• But matter was dropped, not pursued• A couple of years ago DHS identified the T
contamination as an unresolved issue,recommended more wells.
• The new wells found very high tritium
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The Current Problem
• Extent and source of tritium contaminationstill unknown
• No plans for cleaning it uip• Very difficult to remediate• Can’t filter it out of the water because it is
part of the water - HTO• Raises serious questions about adequacy of
monitoring
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Current Problem (cont’d)
• Because Boeing’s practice of filteringwater samples wouldn’t filter out the tritium,but would remove/reduce most otherradionuclides, finding tritium raisesquestions about what other radionuclideswould be found if the samples weren’tfiltered and the filters discarded.
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Radioactivity Other Than Tritiumin Groundwater
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Groundwater Monitoring Wells(excluding Green piezometer dots) Source: DHS 2004 Groundwater Rpt.
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Gross Alpha Radioactivityin Groundwater at SSFL
• In 2002 -- the year DHS reviewed -- 15wells exceeded the drinking water standardof 15 pCi/L
• These wells are RS-18, RS-54, RD-07, RD-18, RD-19, RD-21, RD-24, RDE-27, RD-28,RD-29, RD-34A, RD-35B, RD-50, RD-54A,and RD-63
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Boeing’s Explanation
• It’s all coming from natural radioactivity,not from us.
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Problem with Boeing’sExplanation
• All but one of wells that exceeded permissiblelevels for gross alpha were in Area IV, the nucleararea.
• ~85 wells tested below permissible gross alphalevels, most of those in the non-nuclear part ofSSFL.
• How could high “natural radioactivity” by chanceend up only in Area IV, the nuclear site?
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Problems with Gross Alpha/BetaMeasurements
• Office of Environmental Health HazardAssessment has concluded current grossalpha/beta limits are very much too high toprotect public health
• Measurements are far too infrequent -- oftenjust one sample per year
• Very rarely is there measurement forspecific radionuclides
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Strontium-90 Recently FoundIn Surface Water Leaving SFL
• 11.4 pCi/L Strontium-90 (unfiltered) foundleaving Outfall 3 on April 28, 2005
• 10.8 pCi/L filtered• Maximum Concentration Limit is 8 pCi/L• Source: 2nd Qtr 2005 NPDES Monitoring
Report, August12, 2005
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Strontium-90 Found Again
• “a surface water sample was collected during the2nd Quarter 2005 from Outfall 003 and analyzedfor Strontium-90. This sample result exceeded thepermit limit of 8.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).”
• “follow-up samples were collected…during the4th Quarter. Appendix F includes the results of thesample analysis. Results did not exceed permitlimits.” (emphasis added)
• quoted from: Boeing ltr from Steve Lafflam toRWQCB February 15, 2006
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HOWEVER…
• No strontium data in Appendix F• BUT, in Appendix E, strontium-90 reported
at 8.44 pCi/L on October 18, 2005, againleaking from Outfall 003
• 8.44 is GREATER than 8.0
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Significance
• Outfall 003 is from the RadioactiveMaterials Handling Facility, a seriouslycontaminated area
• Surface water releases from Outfall 003flow towards Simi Valley via Brandeis
• Strontium-90 has previously been atBrandeis and the RMDF watershed
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ACTION TAKEN -- NONE
• Water Board has issued NO notices ofviolation for these strontium-90exceedances of Boeing’s pollution permitlimits