Third Quarter 2009
INL Quarterly Site Environmental Report
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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT AND WILDLIFE SAMPLING

Another potential pathway for contaminants to reach humans is through the food chain. The ESER Program samples multiple agricultural products and game animals from around the INL Site and Southeast Idaho. Specifically, milk, wheat, potatoes, garden lettuce, large game animals, and waterfowl are sampled. Milk is sampled throughout the year and large game animals are sampled whenever large game animals are killed onsite from vehicle collisions. Lettuce and wheat are sampled during the third quarter, while potatoes are collected during the fourth quarter. Waterfowl are collected in either the third or fourth quarter. See Table A-1, Appendix A, for more details on agricultural product and wildlife sampling. This section discusses results from milk and large game animals sampled during the third quarter of 2009.

Milk Sampling

Milk samples were collected weekly in Idaho Falls. Monthly samples were collected at five other locations around the INL Site (Figure 11) during the third quarter of 2009. All samples were analyzed for gamma emitting radionuclides. No Iodine-131 or other gamma-emitting radionuclides were detected in any sample. Data for ¹³¹I and ¹³⁷Cs in milk samples are listed in Appendix C, Table C-6.

Figure 11.   ESER milk sampling locations.

LETTUCE SAMPLING
In 2004 the ESER Program tested two prototype self-contained lettuce planters at the sampling locations in Atomic City and at the EFS on the INL. These locations were relatively remote and had no access to water, requiring that a self-watering system be developed. This prototype method allows for the placement and collection of lettuce at areas previously unavailable to the public (i.e., on the INL). The planters are set out in the spring with the lettuce grown from seed. This new method also allows for the accumulation of deposited radionuclides on the plant surface throughout the growth cycle.

Six lettuce samples (including a duplicate) were collected from prototype planters and four samples were collected from private gardens. Each sample was analyzed for gamma-emitting radionuclides and ⁹⁰Sr. No gamma results were measured above the 3s uncertainty value. Strontium-90 was reported in four of the samples. The quantities detected are consistent with those found in previous years, which are attributed to uptake of soil with residual ⁹⁰Sr from nuclear weapons testing that took place between 1945 and 1980.

Data for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr in all lettuce samples taken during the third quarter are listed in Table C-7 (Appendix C).

WHEAT SAMPLING
Wheat sampling extended into the fourth quarter of 2009 and results will be reported in the next quarterly report.

LARGE GAME ANIMAL SAMPLING

No large game animals were available for sampling during the third quarter.

Third Quarter 2009
INL Quarterly Site Environmental Report
Return to Index