Acid Canyon study area from Dr. Michael E. Ketterer/LANL study Aug. 13, 2024. Courtesy/NukeWatch NM
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
SANTA FE – Nuclear Watch New Mexico issued the following press release Thursday regarding plutonium contamination based on collected water, soil and plant samples from Acid Canyon in the Los Alamos Town Site:
Today, (Thursday) Dr. Michael Ketterer, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Arizona University, is releasing alarmingly high results from samples taken from a popular walking trail in the Los Alamos Town Site, including detections of some of the earliest plutonium produced by humankind.
On July 2 and 17 Dr. Ketterer, with the assistance of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, collected water, soil and plant samples from Acid Canyon in the Los Alamos Town Site
In April Nuclear Watch New Mexico released a map of plutonium contamination based on Lab data. Today, (Thursday) Dr. Michael Ketterer, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Arizona University, is releasing alarmingly high results from samples taken from a popular walking trail in the Los Alamos Town Site, including detections of some of the earliest plutonium produced by humankind.
On July 2 and 17 Dr. Ketterer, with the assistance of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, collected water, soil and plant samples from Acid Canyon in the Los Alamos Town Site and soil and plant samples in Los Alamos Canyon at the Totavi gas station downstream from the Lab. The samples were prepared and analyzed by mass spectrometry at Northern Arizona University to measure concentrations of plutonium, and to ascertain its sources in the environment. For water samples, concentration is expressed in picocuries[1] per liter (pCi/L) and for soil and plants in picocuries per gram (pCi/g). The provenance of the plutonium was determined through isotopic examination of the ratio of 239Pu atoms to 240Pu atoms, which distinguishes it from global nuclear weapons testing fallout.
Read the full press release here. Dr. Ketterer’s methodology, findings and conclusions are available at https://nukewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ketterer-AcidCanyon-13Aug2024.pdf
The DOE Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) responded to the Los Alamos Daily Post’s request for comment, explaining that “the sampling results presented by Nuke Watch NM and Dr. Ketterer are consistent with EM-LA’s sampling data, which is publicly available in IntellusNM. EM-LA said there are low levels of plutonium in Acid Canyon, and these levels represent little to no risk to Los Alamos County residents and downstream water users.”
EM-LA added that the 2018 LANL Annual Site Environmental Report indicates that the human health radiation dose to a representative person in Acid Canyon is less than 0.1 mrem/year. That is 1,000 times lower than the DOE public dose limit of 100 mrem/year.
“The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) continues to collect and monitor sediment and water samples in the Acid Canyon area and the results have consistently shown the levels of plutonium remain very low and well within the safe exposure ranges,” a spokesperson for EM-LA said. “The information presented today (Thursday) by Dr. Ketterer and Nuke Watch is consistent with the Department’s data, which has been publicly available for years and further confirms the Department’s findings, that the levels detected continue to show that Acid Canyon remains safe for unrestricted use. EM-LA will continue to collect sediment and water samples to confirm levels remain low and will remain committed to making the results publicly available.”