TEST WELL DRILLED NEXT TO FIELD LAB GEOLOGISTS CHECKING AREA FOR RADIOACTIVITY.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer Geologists on Friday finished drilling a sampling well next to the site of an old nuclear-reactor meltdown at the Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
The new test wells are being drilled after the discovery earlier this year of the radioactive isotope radioactive isotope or radioisotope, natural or artificially created isotope of a chemical element having an unstable nucleus that decays, emitting alpha, beta, or gamma rays until stability is reached. tritium tritium (trĭt`ēəm), radioactive isotope of hydrogen with mass number 3. The tritium nucleus, called a triton, contains one proton and two neutrons. It has a half-life of 12.5 years and decays by beta-particle emission. in groundwater at four times the national drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. limit. Although groundwater at the site is not used for drinking, the finding prompted the Department of Energy and the Boeing Co. to begin testing near other former reactor sites to track the contamination. Geologists drilled a 90-foot-deep well about 20 feet from the site of a 1959 reactor meltdown. The accident would have released radioactive material radioactive material Radiation A substance that contains unstable–radioactive–atoms that give off radiation as they decay. See Radioactive decay. into the surrounding environment and has also been a particular concern for cleanup watchdogs. It took two days to drill into the rock and will take another two days for enough water to seep into the hole for sampling, hydrogeologist Christopher Brooks said. The test results should be back from the laboratory by Sept 9, when the DOE holds a meeting to update the public on the tritium investigation. ``We are following through on our commitment we made in June to gather additional data on tritium in the groundwater and continuing to work on the characterization of that plume,'' said Mike Lopez, DOE project manager at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center, where the government funded nuclear research at the lab from the 1950s through the 1980s. DOE and Boeing officials have said the tritium levels pose no risk since the groundwater is not used. The ETEC ETEC enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. ETEC Enterotoxic Escherichia coli, see there site and the DOE cleanup has been closely watched by lab neighbors, who complain the federal agency's cleanup plan will leave in place 99 percent of the contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. soil. The high levels of tritium found in groundwater 15 years after the cleanup began fueled neighbors' concerns that the DOE investigation was overlooking contamination. ``This is very, very late and only a year or two before they plan to release the site from radiological control,'' said Dan Hirsch, whose group Committee to Bridge the Gap has joined with the Natural Resource Defense Council in plans to sue the DOE over the cleanup. Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Above, Todd Hall, left, and Christopher Brooks check core samples from well RD-85 at the Rocketdyne facility in the Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south from Santa Clara River Valley to the north and . At left, lead driller Chris Neal, standing, and Werner Cornejo end drill operations. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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