NRC FORM 335 



(7 77) 



US. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 



BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET 



4 TITLE AMD SUBTITLE lAdd Volume No , li appropriate) 



The Environmental Behavior of Transuranic Nuclides Released 

 from Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants 



1. REPORT NUMBER (Assigned by DDCI 



NUREG/CR-1658 



2 (Leave blank) 



3 RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO. 



7 AUTHOR(S) 



5. DATE REPORT COMPLETED 



Vaughan T. Bowen 



MONTH 



September 



1980 



9 PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS (Include Zip Code) 



Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

 Redfield 3, Water Street 

 Woods Hole, MA 02543 



DATE REPORT ISSUED 



MONTH 



March 



1981 



6 (Leave blank) 



8. (Leave blank) 



12 SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS (Include Zip Code) 



Division of Safeguards, Fuel Cycle and Environmental Researcl)i 

 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 

 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

 Washington, DC 20555 



10. PROJECT/TASK/WORK UNIT NO. 



11 CONTRACT NO 



FIN B6153 



13 TYPE OF REPORT 



Final 



PERIOD COVERED (Inclusive dates) 



1 August 1977 - 31 December 1978 



15 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 



1 4 (Leave olankj 



16. ABSTRACT (200 words or less) 



Release data are reported for three coastal water-cooled nuclear reactors: Millstone 

 Point No. 1 and No. 2 (for the period January 1977 through April 1978), and Maine Yankee 

 (for the period 20 June 1977 through 25 March 1978); release samples were analyzed for 

 55Fe, 60Co, 134Cs, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239,240Pu, 24lAm, 242Cm, and 244cm, but not all nuclides 

 on every sample. Radioiron is a major component of the releases measured; the transuranium 

 nuclides are less significant components than was expected, but levels have occasionally 

 reached microcuries per month. Pulses of this size are adequate for tracer studies. 



Environmental samples (water, sediments, and biota) have been analyzed from about the 

 two reactor sites noted, and that of the Pilgrim No. 1 reactor. No water samples remote 

 from reactor outflows have unequivocally shown reactor contamination. No sediment samples 

 from near Millstone Point or Pilgrim 1 have shown reactor contamination; this has been 

 clearly evident in several sediment collections from near Maine Yankee. Biota so far 

 measured from near Millstone Point show reactor contamination only when taken from the 

 effluent canal. From the Maine Yankee and Plymouth areas, however, biota samples fre- 

 quently prove to show slight, but definite, reactor contamination. In these two areas 

 biogeochemical studies of the fates of long-lived waste radionuclides could easily be 

 carried out, and would be very profitable. 



17 KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS 



water-cooled reactors 



reactor effluents 



environmental radioactivity 



iron-55 



cobalt-60 



radiocesium 



Plutonium 



americium 



17a DESCRIPTORS 



17b. IDENTIFIERS/OPEN-ENDED TERMS 



18 AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 



Unlimited 



19 SECURITY CLASS IThis report) 



Unclassified 



20 SECURITY CLASS ITh,s page) 



Unclassified 



21 NO OF PAGES 



22 PRICE 

 S 



N RC FORM 335 17 77) 



