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Determination of Columbia River flow times downstream from Pasco, Washington, using radioactive tracers introduced by the Hanford reactors
Author(s) -
Nelson Jack L.,
Perkins R. W.,
Haushild W. L
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr002i001p00031
Subject(s) - environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , flow (mathematics) , tracer , hanford site , geology , radioactive waste , waste management , geotechnical engineering , mechanics , physics , nuclear physics , engineering
Radioactive tracers introduced into the Columbia River in cooling water from the Hanford reactors were used to measure flow times downstream from Pasco, Washington, as far as Astoria, Oregon. The use of two tracer methods was investigated. One method used the decay of a steady release of Na 24 (15‐hour half‐life) to determine flow times to various downstream locations, and flow times were also determined from the time required for peak concentration of instantaneous releases of I 131 (8‐day half‐life) to reach these locations. Flow times determined from the simultaneous use of the two methods agreed closely. The measured flow times for the 224 miles from Pasco to Vancouver, Washington, ranged from 14.6 to 3.6 days, respectively, for discharges of 108,000 and 630,000 ft 3 /sec at Vancouver, Washington. A graphic relation for estimating flow times at discharges other than those measured and for several locations between Pasco and Vancouver was prepared from the data of tests made at four river discharges. Some limited data are also presented on the characteristics of dispersion of I 131 in the Columbia River. (Keywords: Radioactivity; time of flow; Columbia River.)