Re: Elevated gross alpha background concentrations

["Brian Rees" <brees@lanl.gov>]

For info on dirt burners and radioactivity I recommend
http://www.ornl.gov/ORNLReview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html for starters.

Can you get an alpha spec run?

Brian Rees
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Plutonium Facility Health Physics Operations
brees@lanl.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: elizabeth_algutifan@wssrap-host.wssrap.com
<elizabeth_algutifan@wssrap-host.wssrap.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Monday, September 21, 1998 7:22 AM
Subject: Elevated gross alpha background concentrations


>     I am an environmental HP at the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action
>     Project.  My group measures airborne gross alpha concentration as an
>     indicator of environmental impacts from cleanup activities at our site
>     (the site contains isotopes of uranium, radium, and thorium).  Since
>     about the middle of August I've been seeing elevated weekly gross
>     alpha concentrations pretty much across the board, including at the
>     background station which is 12 miles away. (Since our sources are at
>     ground level, we do not expect that anything from our site could get
>     that far.) Results are obtained on a weekly basis, and now we've seen
>     4 weeks in a row with higher than normal readings.  "Elevated" means ~
>     2.4E-15 uCi/ml vs. a long-term average of 1.2E-15 uCi/ml, or
>     approximately double.  Has anyone else seen this phenomenon,
>     particularly if you are in the Midwest?  We have some theories, all of
>     which are going to be difficult to prove.  One is that the coal-fired
>     plant 15 miles down the river might be affecting our results.  Does
>     anyone have any insight on the effects of coal burning on natural
>     airborne radioactivity levels?
>
>     Thanks,
>     Elizabeth Algutifan
>     Jacobs Engineering Group
>     7295 Hwy. 94 S
>     St. Charles, MO  63304
>     (314) 441-8086, ext. 3514
>
>************************************************************************
>The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
>information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html
>

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html