Soil Sample Question

"I am a co-investigator on a proposal . . . that entails collecting samples that have been exposed ionizing radiation. . . . for the exact type of microbiological set-up that we are proposing dry soils will not do; we need wet sediment. I have found a potential site that may not be as hazardous as some of those you mentioned and will match what we need. The site chosen to collect sediment is 12 miles east of Gallup, New Mexico along the Puerco River. This river is a natural ephemeral stream that drains more than 3,000 square miles in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. Between the early 1950s and 1986, the stream was dominated by discharges of treated and untreated uranium mine dewatering effluents (Hearne, 1977; Hilpert, 1969; Gallaher and Cary , 1986; Shuey, 1986). Water quality data for this time period were routinely recorded and summarized by Wirt, et al., (1991) Contaminants also were derived from three other sources: a one-time release of 94 million gallons of uranium mill process waters in 1979 (Shuey and Morgan, 1988; Shuey, 1982). Subsequent surface water sampling for this event and several years thereafter have been summarized (ADHS, 1985). The last published sampling of water and sediment in this location was made in July 1987, which showed gross beta levels of 130 pCi/I and gross alpha levels of 190 pCi/I with radium-226 levels at 6.3 pCi/I and total uranium levels of 0.030 mg/l (Shuey and Morgan, 1988). Most of the work cited was done by the USGS, EPA, and Arizona department of Health. The area is on a Navajo Indian Reservation. I am sure that some later records must exist because the Navajo tribe uses the stream for livestock drinking water".