The influence of a whole-lake addition of stable cesium on the remobilization of aged 137Cs in a contaminated reservoir
J.E. Pindera,1, T.G. Hintona,*, F.W. Whickerb
aSavannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E,
Aiken, SC 29801, USA
bDepartment of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences,
1618 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1618,
USA
Received 1 June 2004; received in revised form 28 September 2004; accepted
29 September 2004
Abstract
To document the short-term dynamics ofCs, 4 kg of 133Cs were
introduced into an 11.4-ha, 157000 m3 reservoir previously
contaminated with 137Cs from past reactor operations at the
US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina,
USA. The 133Cs $1 addition resulted in an increase of 6.1l
MBq of 137Cs (1.9 J.1µg 137Cs) in the water
column over the following 260 days. Possible sources for the increased
137Cs included (1) release from the sediments, (2) release
from the approximately 26000 kg of aquatic macrophytes that occupied 80%
of the reservoir, and (3) wash-in from the pond's watershed. Data are
presented to indicate that release from the sediments was the principal
source of the 137Cs increase. The fraction of 137Cs
released from the sediments (0.7%) is consistent with laboratory measurements
of 137Cs desorption from neighboring ponds on the Savannah
River Site.
@ 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
137Cs; 133Cs; Reservoir; Water column; Sediments;
Macrophytes; Remobilization; Typha latifolia; Nymphaea
odorata
SREL Reprint #2818
Pinder, J. E., III, T. G. Hinton and F. W. Whicker. 2005. The influence of a whole-lake addition of stable cesium on the remobilization of aged 137Cs in a contaminated reservoir. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 80:225-243.
