406 TRANS URANIC ELEMENTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT 



TABLE 1 Some Characteristics of Plutonium Study Areas at Los Alamos 



and Trinity, New Mexico 



*See Miera et al. ( 1977); Nyhan, Miera, and Peters (1976a). 

 tSee Neher and Bailey (1976). 



received an estimated 173 mCi of plutonium; Mortandad Canyon has been used for the 

 least amount of time (from 1963 to present) and currently receives most of the 

 Laboratory's liquid waste plutonium. As of 1973 and 1974, the years from which data in 

 this chapter were collected, Mortandad Canyon had received about 61 mCi of plutonium. 

 Surface water exists in the upper reaches of both canyons as a result of Laboratory 

 effluents and/or domestic sewage-treatment effluent; the lower portions of the canyons 

 are normally dry. Surface water, including the pulse releases of plutonium-contaminated 

 liquid effluent, rapidly percolates into the alluvium and generally disappears about 1 km 

 downstream. Relatively large flows occur in both canyons during storm runoff events. 

 Storm runoff reaches the Rio Grande via Acid— Pueblo and Los Alamos Canyons (Fig. 1 ), 

 but the runoff water in Mortandad Canyon rapidly soaks into the thick alluvial deposits 

 and seldom reaches postoutfall distances beyond 3 km. Many rainstorms at Los Alamos 

 are intense, of short duration, and result in dramatic flash floods in the canyons. 



Trinity 



Trinity Site and the associated fallout zone is located in the northern end of the 

 Tularosa basin in south central New Mexico (Fig. 1 ). The region is characterized (Table 1) 

 by low rainfall (12 to 40 cm), high summer temperatures (commonly greater than 37°C), 

 and severe wind and water erosion on exposed and disturbed ground surfaces. Rainfall 



