2005

Radium-226 in Creek Foam/Water from the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (849 KB)

Citizen activists collected foam and water flowing from the Portsmouth, Ohio Gaseous Diffusion Plant in November 2003. They identified radioactivity in the sample at 100 times the normal background level, using simple Geiger counter methods. That elevated radioactivity was confirmed by the United States Enrichment Corporation.

TRAC identifies the main source of radioactivity in the foam / water to be radium-226. This identification is based on the citizen activists' Geiger counter measurements in November 2003 and on a later gamma spectrometer measurement. There are several possible explanations for the presence of radium-226, much above normal background activity, in water flowing out of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Citizen's Guide to Monitor Radioactivity (3.04 MB)

This is a “how-to” Guide for citizens, groups, and communities who neighbor U.S. Department of Energy facilities. This Guide is for those who want their own independent information about artificial radioactivity in their surroundings. This Guide follows the story of an actual expedition by an independent Russian scientist to Paducah, KY and to Portsmouth, OH. Step-by-step instructions explain how to use inexpensive equipment to discover radiological conditions of your daily life. Start-up equipment and supplies cost about $1,500.