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<br />PURPOSE <br />The purpose of this study is to determine the levels of radium, urz~nium and <br />other elements in several species of plants growing in the vicinity of the <br />ore sorter located near the Schwartzwalder Mine. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Colorado Department of Health is concerned about the potential for <br />accelerated migration of radionuclides in the Ralston Creek watershed due <br />to the operation of the ore sorter near the Schwartzwalder Mine. <br />One of the Department's specific concerns is that ore sorter reject or waste <br />rock has been disposed of alongside Ralston Creek without provisions for the <br />containment of precipitation and runoff water intercepted by the waste rock. <br />Cotter Corporation will provide information to the Department to help deter- <br />mine to what extent, if any, contamination of Ralston Creek has occured due <br />to the location of the sorter reject piles. <br />Pathways of contamination are highly interactive, involving a complex array <br />of physical and chemical considerations. Sheet erosion, mass flow, leaching, <br />blowing dust, chemical weathering, and precipitation may all interact to <br />transform and/or translocate substances in the encironment. <br />In October, 1980, soil samples were collected along transects between the <br />waste rock pile and Ralston Creek. Analyses of these samples revealed no <br />apparent migration of radium or uranium from the waste rock toward Ralston <br />Creek. <br />Another pathway for the movement of radionuclides in the environment involves <br />uptake of plants. Analysis of above ground plant tissue may indicate several <br />sources of contamination. However, radionuclide levels in plant tissue above <br />