Long-term Radionuclide Contamination Of Migratory Waterfowl At The Savannah River Site: Implications For Habitat Management And Nuclear Waste Site Remediation
I. Lehr Brisbin, Jr., Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, P. O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
Robert A. Kennamer, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, P. O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
Introduction
Historically, one of the least-well understood vectors of Savannah River Site (SRS) contaminants to the food chain of the public offsite has been the hunting and consumption of highly mobile game birds, including waterfowl. Aquatic habitats found on the SRS, including the vast Savannah River Swamp and the large former reactor-cooling reservoirs, provide suitable wintering and migratory rest areas to many thousands of birds annually. Waterfowl using the SRS during the winter migrate extensive distances as shown by the recovery of about 500 birds originally banded on the SRS and subsequently harvested by hunters elsewhere in North America. Such extensive movements of these birds increases the concern that SRS contaminants may be spread over large geographic regions. Since the early 1970s the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory has sought to broaden the understanding of relationships between environmental contaminants, particularly Cs137 (radiocesium), and waterfowl through a research and monitoring program on the SRS. A primary goal of that program has been an eventual examination of long-term changes in the bioavailability and accumulation of radiocesium in waterfowl using the site’s largest contaminated reactor-cooling reservoir, Par Pond. Early studies of radiocesium levels in the migratory waterfowl community wintering on Par Pond showed that the abundant American Coot (Fulica americana) was the "worst possible case" for radiocesium contamination in that it consistently showed higher body burdens than other wintering species (Brisbin et al. 1973). Here, we present the results of long-term monitoring of whole-body radiocesium in coots from Par Pond and discuss those results within the context of risk to human consumers and the need for site managers to be able to predict the radiological consequences of future habitat remediation and management activities.
The widespread occurrence of migratory waterfowl in contaminated wetlands at other former DOE nuclear weapons production sites in the United States and in other regions of the world contaminated by nuclear accidents such as the Chernobyl site in the Ukraine makes this information particularly important. Information of this kind can and therefore should be considered when making decisions concerning options for long-term use, public access and/or the need to maintain surveillance/monitoring programs until elevated levels of radioisotopes have declined due to physical decay processes.
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