Geochemical Associations of Sellafield-Derived Radionuclides in Saltmarsh Deposits of the Solway Firth |
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Authors: | ID Pulford RL Allan GT Cook AB MacKenzie |
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Institution: | (1) Agricultural, Food and Environmental Chemistry Section, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK;(2) Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, East Kilbride, Glasgow, G75 0QF, Scotland, UK |
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Abstract: | This paper describes a study of the geochemical associations of Sellafield waste radionuclides in saltmarsh sediments from south-west s]Scotland. The contaminant radionuclides are transported to this environment in association with particulate material and 137Cs was found to be predominantly (80-98%) non-extractable. In the case of 239+240Pu there was a redistribution from the oxalate extractable oxide fraction to the pyrophosphate extractable organic fraction as a consequence of on-shore transfer of contaminated sediment. The relatively aggressive nature of the chemical extractants required to remove the radionuclides from the sediments suggests that they were in a form which was unlikely to result in their being released into the aquatic environment or taken up by plants. Plutonium had a greater potential mobility or bioavailability than Cs. Values of KD for the desorption of 137Cs from the sediment by freshwater, groundwater and seawater were all approximately 105 L kg-1, confirming its immobility in this environment. The desorption KD values for stable 133Cs were all approximately 106 L kg-1, so the stable Cs did not have a significant influence on the radiocaesium in this sediment. |
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Keywords: | Saltmarsh deposits radiocaesium plutonium selective extraction desorption |
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