Re: Elevated gross alpha background concentrations

[Laurie Taylor <laurie-taylor@uiowa.edu>]

Elizabeth,  

I have seen it reported that coal-fired electric plants can release 3000 kg
of natural uranium into the environment per day - other compotents which
could be released to the air from coal ash include K-40, Th-232 (series),
Rn-222 and Pb-210 and Po-210.  Also, NCRP Report No. 95 contains
information on the combustion of coal and exposure to the U.S. population.
I would be happy to fax this information to you if you will send me your
fax #.  Also, if you suspect the coal-fired plant to be elevating your
background numbers, you might want to look into windspeed and directions.

Laurie Taylor

At 08:24 AM 9/21/98 -0500, you wrote:
>     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
>
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