Reconstruction of radionuclide releases from the Hanford Site, 1944-1972

Historic releases of key radionuclides were estimated as a first step in determining the radiation doses that resulted from Hanford Site operations. The Hanford Site was built in southcentral Washington State during World War II to provide plutonium for the U.S. nuclear weapons program. As part of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project, releases to the Columbia River of 24Na, 32P, 46Sc, 51Cr, 56Mn, 65Zn, 72Ga, 76As, 90Y, 131I, 239Np, and nonvolatile gross beta activity from operation of eight Hanford single-pass production reactors were estimated. Releases of 90Sr, 103Ru, 106Ru, 131I, 144Ce, and 239Pu to the atmosphere from operation of chemical separation facilities were also estimated. These radionuclides and the atmospheric and Columbia River pathways were selected for study because scoping studies showed them to be the largest contributors to dose from Hanford operations. The highest doses resulted from releases to the atmosphere of 131I from chemical separations plants in the pre-1950 period. Prior to 1950, the technology for limiting iodine releases had not been developed. Hence, a very detailed reconstruction of the hourly 131I release history was achieved for 1944-1949 using Monte Carlo methods. Atmospheric releases of the other radionuclides were estimated on a monthly basis for 1944-1972 using deterministic calculations. Monthly releases to the Columbia River for 1944-1971 were based on Monte Carlo methods.