Sorption of Cesium and Strontium by Arid Region Desert Soil

摘要

Adsorption and ion exchange in soil systems are the principal mechanisms that retard the migration of nuclear waste to the biosphere. Cesium and strontium are two elements with radioactive isotopes (Cs exp 137 and Sr exp 90 ) that are commonly disposed of as nuclear waste. The sorption and ion exchange properties of nonradioactive cesium and strontium were studied in this investigation. The soil used in this study was collected at an experimental infiltration site on Frenchman Flat, a closed drainage basin on the Nevada Test Site. This soil is mostly nonsaline-alkali sandy loam and loamy sand with a cation exchange capacity ranging from 13 to 30 me/100g. The clay fraction of the soil contains illite, montmorillonite, and clinoptilolite. Ion exchange studies have shown that this soil sorbs cesium preferentially relative to strontium, and that charge for charge, the exchange-phase cations released from exchange sites exceed the cesium and strontium sorbed by the soil. 38 references, 22 figures. (ERA citation 09:041198)