Immobilization of radioactive strontium in contaminated soils by phosphate treatment

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6511876

Kim, K H; Ammons, J T ^[1]; Lee, S Y ^[2]

---

1. Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (USA). Dept. of Plant and Soil Science
2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

The feasibility of in situ phosphate- and metal- (calcium, aluminum, and iron) solution treatment for {sup 90}Sr immobilization was investigated. Batch and column experiments were performed to find optimum conditions for coprecipitation of {sup 90}Sr with Ca-, Al-, and Fe-phosphate compounds in contaminated soils. Separate columns were packed with artificially {sup 85}Sr-contaminated acid soil as well as {sup 90}Sr-contaminated soil from the Oak Ridge Reservation. After metal-phosphate treatment, the columns were then leached successively with either tapwater or 0.001 M CaCl{sub 2} solution. Most of the {sup 85}Sr coprecipitated with the metal phosphate compounds. Immobilization of {sup 85}Sr and {sup 90}Sr was affected by such factors as solution pH, metal and phosphate concentration, metal-to-phosphate ratio, and soil characteristics. Equilibration time after treatments also affected {sup 85}Sr immobilization. Many technology aspects still need to be investigated before field applications are feasible, but these experiments indicate that phosphate-based in situ immobilization should prevent groundwater contamination and will be useful as a treatment technology for {sup 90}Sr-contaminated sites. 15 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6511876
• Report Number(s): CONF-9011116-2; ON: DE91001213
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540330* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CONTAMINATION
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISSOLUTION
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FOOD CHAINS
GROUND WATER
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LEACHING
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOSPHATES
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS
SOLIDIFICATION
STRONTIUM 85
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM COMPOUNDS
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES