Cook Plant preoperational studies 1970 / John C. Ayers ... [et al.].

INTRODUCTION

Nuclear energy provides man with an energy source for
generating electricity. At present there are 16 nuclear power
plants operating in the United States and 82 additional plants
under construction or being planned by 1976 (1). The operation
of nuclear power plants results in the release of small
quantities of radioactive wastes into the environment. Man can
be exposed to these wastes through air, water, or food supplies.
Continuous surveillance of these environmental pathways to man
is essential to assure that the risk from the radiation exposures are kept at a minimum.
Since water is one of the most direct pathways from plant
to man, interest is placed on analyzing the components of the
marine ecosystem for radionuclides released by a nuclear
facility. Sediment, as part of every marine environment,
constitutes a reservoir for radioactive materials by virtue of
its chemical and physical characteristics; thus it is of
particular interest to monitor this phase of the nuclear plant's
environment.
The conventional procedure for making radiological measurements of sediment involves collecting disturbed grab samples
using some type of dredging device, transporting the samples to
a laboratory for oven drying, and obtaining a gamma ray spectrum
for each sediment sample using a multichannel pulse height