Distribution of organic carbon, selected stable elements and artificial radionuclides among dissolved, colloidal and particulate phases in the Rhone River (France): Preliminary results

摘要

The behaviour of radionuclides discharged from nuclear facilities in the Rhone River depends on their distribution among the dissolved, colloidal and particulate phases. A large water sample was fractionated using sequential ultrafiltration. Size distributions of organic carbon, Fe, Al, Si, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, ~137Cs, ~60Co and ~106Ru were obtained. Our results show that organic colloids account for 11/100 of the total organic carbon content. Approximately 20/100 of the dissolved (<450 nm) Fe and Al are in colloidal classes. ~137Cs is not significantly transferred by the colloidal phase while 25/100 of ~60Co or ~106Ru is associate with organic and inorganic colloids.