Role of Burrowing Activities of the Great Basin Pocket Mouse (Perognathus Parvus) in the Dispersal of Radionuclides on a Decommissioned Pond

摘要

The intrusion of waste burial sites by animals is a common occurrence at nuclear waste facilities. This study identifies parameters associated with burrowing activities of the Great Basin Pocket Mouse at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. The objectives of the study were to: (1) document and compare burrow depths on a control site and a decommissioned radioactive waste pond and (2) document exp 137 Cs concentrations in pocket mice and the soil mounds created by their burrowing activities. Pocket mice burrowed deeper in the backfilled burial site (anti x = 72 cm) than they did in the control site (anti x = 38 cm). The small amounts of exp 137 Cs found in the mice were an order of magnitude below what was present in the mounds. This indicates that the burrowing habits of these mice and subsequent mound construction may be more important in terms of radionuclide dispersal than the small amounts contained within their bodies. The exp 137 Cs values reported in the mice and mounds are below Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) surface soil contamination limits. Information received from test plots will be used in formulating appropriate control mechanisms which may be deployed in the future. In the interim, surface stabilization efforts are being conducted on waste sites to control and deter burrowing animals. (ERA citation 08:004435)