Concerns over the possible movement of radionuclides away from the Project Shoal site prompted federal officials to propose that groundwater in the vicinity be monitored on a prolonged basis. In 1972, the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program was initiated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Radiation Protection Program in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been conducting the monitoring program since that time without interruption.
Monitoring consists of sampling selected groundwater and surface water sites (click the map below to see a larger view of the sites) and takes about one week per year. Samples are analyzed for tritium (3H) and cesium-137. Detection of tritium above background levels would suggest that radionuclides might be moving with groundwater into either Fairview Valley or Fourmile Flat. Tritium, above background levels, has never been detected by the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program at Project SHOAL.The average annual cost of sampling for the Project Shoal area is approximately $9,500.
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