Nyhan J W, White G C, Trujillo G
Health Phys. 1982 Oct;43(4):531-41. doi: 10.1097/00004032-198210000-00007.
Stream channel sediments and adjacent bank soils found in three intermittent streams used for treated liquid effluent disposal at Los Alamos, New Mexico were sampled to determine the distribution of 238Pu, 239,240Pu and 137Cs. Radionuclide concentrations and inventories were determined as functions of distance downstream from the waste outfall and from the center of the stream channel, soil sampling depth, stream channel-bank physiography, and the waste use history of each disposal area. Radionuclide concentrations in channel sediments were inversely related to distances up to 10 km downstream from the outfalls. For sites receiving appreciable waste effluent additions, contaminant concentrations in bank soils decreased with perpendicular distances greater than 0.38 m from the stream channel, and with stream bank sampling depths greater than 20-40 cm. Concentrations and total inventories of radionuclides in stream bank soils generally decreased as stream bank height increased. Inventory estimates of radionuclides in channel sediments exhibited coefficients of variation that ranged 0.41-2.6, reflecting the large variation in radionuclide concentrations at each site. Several interesting temporal relationships of these radionuclides in intermittent streams were gleaned from the varying waste use histories of the three effluent-receiving areas. Eleven yr after liquid wastes were added to one canyon, the major radionuclide inventories were found in the stream bank soils, unlike most of the other currently-used receiving areas. A period of time greater than 6 yr seems to be required before the plutonium in liquid wastes currently added to the canyon is approximately equilibrated with the plutonium in the bank soils. These observations are discussed relative to waste management practices in these southwestern intermittent streams.
对新墨西哥州洛斯阿拉莫斯用于处理液体废水排放的三条间歇性溪流中的河道沉积物和相邻河岸土壤进行了采样，以确定²³⁸Pu、²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu和¹³⁷Cs的分布。确定了放射性核素浓度和存量与废水排放口下游距离、河道中心距离、土壤采样深度、河道-河岸地貌以及每个排放区域的废水使用历史的关系。河道沉积物中的放射性核素浓度与排放口下游长达10公里的距离呈反比。对于接收大量废水添加的地点，河岸土壤中的污染物浓度随着距河道垂直距离大于0.38米以及河岸采样深度大于20 - 40厘米而降低。河岸土壤中放射性核素的浓度和总存量通常随着河岸高度的增加而降低。河道沉积物中放射性核素的存量估计显示变异系数在0.41 - 2.6之间，反映了每个地点放射性核素浓度的巨大差异。从三个废水接收区域不同的废水使用历史中收集到了这些放射性核素在间歇性溪流中的一些有趣的时间关系。在向一个峡谷添加液体废物11年后，主要放射性核素存量存在于河岸土壤中，这与大多数其他当前使用的接收区域不同。目前添加到峡谷中的液体废物中的钚与河岸土壤中的钚达到近似平衡似乎需要超过6年的时间。结合这些西南部间歇性溪流中的废物管理实践对这些观察结果进行了讨论。
