Radioactive Columbia River Clams Found

RFA Staff | March 08, 2005

by Robin Klein © Cascadia Times Reprinted by permission

Radioactive radium-228 was found in January, 2005 in Asian clam shells at more than six times background levels, in the Columbia River in the stretch commonly known as the Hanford Reach. The clams were pulled from soils.

The likely source of the contamination is the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation run by the US Department of Energy. said researcher Norm Buske, head of The RadioActivist Campaign, an independent group. There is concern because USDOE does not test aquatic biota in this area for the radium isotopes, he said.

River water and the clam shells were collected and tested as part of a sampling program conducted by TRAC for the Portland-based citizen's watchdog group Hanford Action of Oregon. In September, when water levels were low, TRAC installed plastic tubes underwater in riverbed sediment where the clams and other species live. The purpose of the tubes is to collect water samples for testing for radioactivity of Hanford origin. At six different locations along the Reach, TRAC tested clam hard shells and their fleshy soft bodies for both long-lived and short-lived radiological uptake. Shells showing the high content of the long-lived radium were found in Hanford's 300 Area.

A report on the findings also shows radioactive strontium and uranium were found at levels greatly exceeding background and USDOE reports.

Buske said that "the impact of Hanford contaminants on nearby river biota has been systematically under-reported." Impacts on Native Americans in the area who may use the clams for making jewelry is not known.

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