Transfer mechanisms in cultivated soils of waste radionuclides from electronuclear power plants in the system river--irrigated soil--underground water level

Technical Report · Mon Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1973

OSTI ID:4935285

Saas, A; Grauby, A

From symposinm on environmentl behavior of radionuclides released in the nuclear industry; Aix-en-Provence, France (14 May 1973). The location of nuclear power plants by rivers whose waters are used for irrigation and industrial and domestic consumption necessities a profound study of the river-irrigated soil- ground water system. Mechanisms of radionuclide transport in cultivated soil are considered under three principal aspects: the effect of the quality of the river water, of the irrigation channels, and of the ground water level on the mobility of the radionuclides in the soil; the influence of the type of soil (the four types of soils considered are acid brown soil, calcic brown soil, chalky brown soil, and chalky alluvial soil); and the distribution of radionuclides in the soil (hydrosoluble forms can contminate the ground water level and these are the forms in which they are taken up by plants. A study was made on the following nuclides: /sup 22/Na, /sup 137/Cs, /sup 85/Sr, /Sup 54/Mn, /Sup 59/Fe, /Sup 60/ Co, /sup 65/Zn, /sup 124/Sb, /sup 141 in the cultivated soils permit the evaluation of the risks of contmination of the food chain and of the underground water. This study also showed new perspectives of the behavior of radionuclides as a function of their contmination of the organo-mineral wastes of industrial and domestic origin. This pollution interfers largely with the formation of stble complexes carried by the river to irrigated soils. The quality of the water determines the distribution of the radionuclides in the profile. The hydrosoluble complex persists in the soil and migrates toward the underground water level if they are not biodegradable. The stability of these forms as a function of the soil pH and of its physicochemical characteristics, as well as that of the radionuclides considered, permit the formulation of a new balance of the radionuclides in soils. The formulation of new proposals for the contml of nuclear sites is discussed. (tr-auth)

• Research Organization: CEA Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-les- Durance (France). Dept. de Protection
• Sponsoring Organization: Sponsor not identified
• NSA Number: NSA-29-010160
• OSTI ID: 4935285
• Report Number(s): CEA-CONF--2443; CONF-730503--9; SM--172/57
• Country of Publication: France
• Language: French

Related Subjects

AGRICULTURE
ANTIMONY 124
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
CERIUM 141
CESIUM 137
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
COBALT 60
CROPS
DIFFUSION
DRINKING WATER
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD CHAINS
GROUND WATER
HUMAN POPULATIONS
IODINE 131
IRON 59
IRRIGATION
LIQUID WASTES
MANGANESE 54
N44340 --Environmental & Earth Sciences--Radioactivity Monitoring & Transport-- Ecosystems & Food Cycles
N44500* --Environmental & Earth Sciences--Site Surveys
N77900 --Reactors--Reactor Safety & Environmental Aspects
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PLANTS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RIVERS
SITE SELECTION
SODIUM 22
SOILS
STRONTIUM 85
SURFACE WATERS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC 65