Intermittent Elevated Radium Concentrations in Coastal Plain Groundwater of South Carolina, U.S.A.
To learn the cause of intermittent radium concentrations in groundwater of Coastal Plain aquifers, 31 groundwater wells in South Carolina, U.S.A. were sampled for radium and other geochemical parameters. Sediments cored from near the well screens were also sampled to examine any relationship between sediment properties and radium concentration in the groundwater. Elevated radium concentrations only occurred in groundwater with low electrical conductivity and pH values below 6.3. The adsorption edge for radium on hematite--a major surface active mineral in these aquifers--is at a pH value of about 6. Near this value, small changes in pH can result in significant adsorption or desorption of radium. In groundwater with initially low alkalinity, small intermittent decreases in partial pressure of carbon dioxide in groundwater cause decreases in pH and desorption of radium. The result is intermittent elevated radium concentrations.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 881470
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-2005-00565; JERAEE; TRN: US200613%%462
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Journal Name: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity; ISSN 0265-931X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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