Effect of organic complexants on the mobility of low-level waste radionuclides in soils: status report
The effects of some organic complexants on the sorption by soil of some elements typical of those present in low-level wastes are being evaluated and procedures are being developed to efficiently obtain valid sorption data. Data have been obtained with Hanford soil and the elements europium, nickel, cobalt, cesium, and strontium. Complexants studied to date include ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), and humic acid. The sorption of cesium and strontium has been found to be affected very little by EDTA or DTPA, as expected. However, these complexants have been found to greatly reduce the sorption of europium, nickel, or cobalt by the soil. The Eu/EDTA system was found to be well behaved, and the effect of the complexant on the sorption by soil was quantified. With nickel and cobalt, however, kinetic problems have been encountered, and the effects of complexants on the sorption by soil have not yet been quantified. The problems encountered in the nickel and cobalt systems have further emphasized the need for the development of methods to assure the general validity of the data obtained in the experiments. Series of experimental results that looked very good within themselves were found by additional procedures to be artifacts of the conditions used. One procedure that has been of great value in identifying invalid data is that of contacting the equilibrated solution from a soil contact with a second batch of soil. Unless the sorption coefficient in the second contact is equivalent to that in the first contact, the data are likely invalid. Efforts are continuing to develop procedures that will allow generally valid data to be obtained in an efficient manner and to employ such procedures to obtain data in a variety of systems pertinent to low-level waste disposal.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6279169
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-3927; ON: DE81030409; TRN: 81-015928
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CESIUM
SORPTION
COBALT
EUROPIUM
NICKEL
SOILS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
STRONTIUM
DTPA
EDTA
HANFORD RESERVATION
HUMIC ACIDS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
AMINO ACIDS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHELATING AGENTS
DRUGS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOPROTECTIVE SUBSTANCES
RARE EARTHS
SURFACE PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510301 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)