[ RadSafe ] Radioexcretia, etc. in municipal solid waste

[Jim Hardeman]

George *
 
As I recall this was MANY years ago, so it's unlikely that these measurements were from a real-time monitoring system. I'm pretty sure they were grab samples ... and your point is well taken as well.
 
Barbara hit the nail on the head ... states are devoting HUGE amounts of resources chasing small amounts of short-lived radionuclides that alarm monitors at landfills. If (as we've seen happen here in GA) the notification chain goes through the feds (let's say that somebody calls the National Response Center) a routine event suddenly takes on the urgency of a "homeland security event", and no amount of logical argument can slow down that juggernaut. 
 
Jim

>>> "George J. Vargo" <vargo at physicist.net> 4/29/2005 13:17:12 >>>

Jim,
 
Your point is well taken and I am aware of I-131 from medical administrations occasionally showing in radiological environmental samples.  Were these grab or samples counted to environmental MDAs or observations of a real-time monitoring system?  There is a huge difference in the sensitivity.
 

George J. Vargo, Ph.D., CHP 
Senior Scientist 
MJW Corporation 
http://www.mjwcorp.com 
610-925-3377 
610-925-5545 (fax) 
vargo at physicist.net 
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hardeman [mailto:Jim_Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us] 
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 12:46
To: vargo at physicist.net; radsafe at radlab.nl; crispy_bird at yahoo.com
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Radioexcretia, etc. in municipal solid waste


George *
 
I beg to differ ... I seem to recall a story (perhaps apochryphal) from my colleagues in Tennessee, and their environmental monitoring program around Oak Ridge. Seems that occasionally they were seeing I-131 in the Clinch River, and they were able to track it back to thyroid therapy patients. If memory serves, they figured that one (1) patient elminating would not exceed EPA maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for I-131 in surface water, but that more than one (1) patient eliminating simultaneously could. We OCCASIONALLY saw I-131 "blips" downstream of Augusta and upstream of Vogtle and Savannah River Site (SRS).
 
Bottom line ... the more you look, the more you're going to find.
 
Jim