Environmental concerns Between 1944 and 1971, pump systems drew as much as of cooling water from the Columbia River to dissipate the heat produced by the reactors. Before its release into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived isotopes were not affected by this retention, and several terabecquerels entered the river every day. The federal government kept knowledge about these radioactive releases secret. Another source of contaminated food came from Columbia River fish, an impact felt disproportionately by Native American communities who depended on the river for their customary diets. Radiation was later measured downstream as far west as the Washington and Oregon coasts. It was estimated that a person who had daily eaten of fish caught at Richland would have received an additional radiation dose of 1,300 millirems per year.
Environmental concerns Between 1944 and 1971 pump systems drew as much as of cooling water from the Columbia River to dissipate the heat produced by the reactors. Before its release into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived isotopes were not affected by this retention, and several terabecquerels entered the river every day. The federal government kept knowledge about these radioactive releases secret. Another source of contaminated food came from Columbia River fish an impact ,felt disproportionately by Native American communities who depended on the river for their customary diets. Radiation was later measured downstream as far west as the Washington and Oregon coasts. It was estimated that a person .who had dail,y eaten of fish caught at Richland would have received an additional radiation dose of 1,300 millirems per year