Strontium concentrations in chamisa (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) shrub plants growing in a former liquid waste disposal area in Bayo Canyon

摘要

Chamisa (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) shrub plants growing in a former liquid waste disposal site Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 10-003(c) in Bayo Canyon at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) were collected and analyzed for strontium (Sr-90) and total uranium. Surface soil samples were also collected from below (understory) and between (interspace) shrub canopies. Both chamisa plants growing over SWMU 10-003(c) contained significantly higher concentrations of Sr-90 than a control plant. One plant, in particular, contained 90, 500 pCi Sr-90 per g ash in top-growth material. Similarly, soil surface samples collected underneath and between plants contained Sr-90 concentrations above background and LANL screening action levels; this probably occurred as a result of chamisa plant leaf fall contaminating the soil understory area followed by water and/or winds moving Sr-90 to the soil interspace area.