Chemical treatments of soil to decrease radiostrontium leachability
The leachability of radiostrontium from radioactive waste and through soil is one of the most salient problems with shallow-land burial as a disposal method. The continuous leaching of buried waste at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), for periods up to 30 years, by lateral ground water flow has led to the contamination of surrounding soils and streams with /sup 90/Sr. The goal of the present investigation was to evaluate methods to effect either the in situ fixation or reduced leachability of /sup 90/Sr in soil. Small columns of three soils, collected from the solid waste disposal areas at ORNL, were labeled with /sup 85/Sr as a convenient tracer for /sup 90/Sr. After this labeling, but prior to leaching, the soil columns were percolated with equivalent amounts of sodium salt solutions of hydroxide, fluoride, carbonate, phosphate, silicate, or aluminate. Leaching was then initiated with 0.1N CaCl/sub 2/ which was selected to qualitatively simulate ground water which contains Ca as the dominant dissolved cation. With two soils, high in indigenous exchangeable Ca/sup 2 +/, only 30 to 35% of the /sup 85/Sr could be leached from the carbonate-treated columns. Presumably, the /sup 85/Sr was coprecipitated with the nascent CaCo/sub 3/ formed during this treatment. In contrast, >98% of the /sup 85/Sr was readily leached from all untreated soils. Other anions fixed variable but generally less /sup 85/Sr than the carbonate treatment. Thus, sodium carbonate appears to have a potential application to immobilize /sup 90/Sr in situ in contaminated soil.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 6499537
- Journal Information:
- J. Environ. Qual.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Environ. Qual.; (United States) Vol. 10:1; ISSN JEVQA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Reduction of radiostrontium mobility in acid soils by carbonate treatment
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Related Subjects
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Soil-- (-1987)
520301 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Water-- (1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALUMINATES
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM CHLORIDES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM HALIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COPRECIPITATION
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISSOLUTION
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
GROUND WATER
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LEACHING
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ORNL
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOSPHATES
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PRECIPITATION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOILS
SOLIDIFICATION
STRONTIUM 85
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
TRACER TECHNIQUES
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES