RECONSTRUCTION OF TRITIUM RELEASE HISTORY FROM CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER USING TREE-RING ANALYSIS

The history of tritium releases to the groundwater from buried waste w as reconstructed through dendrochronology. Wood from dated tree rings was sectioned from a cross-section of a tree that was thought to tap t he groundwater. Cellulose was chemically separated from the wood. The cellulose was combusted and the water of combustion collected for liqu id scintillation counting. The tritium concentration in the rings rose rapidly after 1972 which was prior to the first measurements made in this area. Trends in the tritium concentration of water outcropping to the surface are similar to the trends in tritium concentration in tre e rings.