Baseline concentrations of radionuclides and heavy metals in soils and vegetation around the DARHT facility: Construction phase (1997). Progress report

As part of the Department of Energy`s Mitigation Action Plan for the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), baseline concentrations of radionuclides ({sup 3}H, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, {sup 241}Am, and {sup tot}U) and heavy metals (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Tl) in soil, sediment, and vegetation (overstory and understory) around the DARHT facility during the construction phase in 1997 were determined. Most radionuclides and heavy metals in soils, sediments, and vegetation, with the exception of {sup 90}Sr in soils and sediments, were within upper (95%) limit background concentrations. Although the levels of {sup 90}Sr in soils and sediments around the DARHT facility were higher than background, they were below LANL screening action levels (