Contamination from nuclear testing found in water

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

And here's another tidbit on plutonium contamination ... It now looks 
like the Princess Di obsession is over, and, they'r back to 
attacking nuclear issues.....
===========================

Contamination from nuclear testing found in water

Associated Press, 09/11/97 19:51 

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Plutonium found in a water well a mile from the site
of a 1969 nuclear weapons test has sparked new debate over storing the
nation's radioactive waste at a proposed repository north of here. 

``I believe this is another nail in the coffin of the Yucca Mountain
project,'' Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said Thursday. 

Bryan and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., responded after two chemists with
the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories reported traces of plutonium
in a well south of the site of an underground test conducted Dec. 19,
1969, and code-named Benham. 

Plutonium, a key element in nuclear weapons, is said to be the most
toxic substance known to man. 

Nevada officials are fighting the proposed repository, 100 miles north
of Las Vegas, where radioactive waste from the nation's nuclear power
plants and some military waste would be stored. 

A major concern has been that the waste, which would remain at
dangerous levels for 10,000 years, could eventually seep into water
tables around the remote desert site. 

The plutonium was detected in a monitoring well on the Nevada Test
Site, 65 miles north of here, said chemists Annie Kersting of Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in California and Joe Thompson of Los
Alamos, N.M., National Laboratory. 

``This is the first time we've seen plutonium transported in ground
water,'' Kersting said. 

They presented their findings to the American Chemical Society
convention here on Wednesday. 

After their presentation, they said the fact that plutonium was
carried through ground water attached to very small mineral particles
does not mean plans for Yucca Mountain should be halted. 

``I don't know if it has any particular significance,'' Thompson
said.``The material was deposited as a result of nuclear tests without
engineered barriers'' like those proposed for Yucca Mountain. 

Reid disagreed, saying the report strengthens the argument that the
repository ``poses a grave risk of environmental contamination.'' 

Bryan questioned whether any barriers could be devised to prevent
plutonium from leaking into the groundwater. 
------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
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