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Diffusion and Sorption of Radioactive Cesium and Cobalt in Regolith Materials of Central Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Takashi Itakura ,
Chin Jian Leo ,
Gordon D. McOrist  and
Timothy E. Payne
Takashi Itakura
Affiliation:
Environment Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation PMB1, Menai, NSW, 2234, Australia
Chin Jian Leo
Affiliation:
School of Engineering and Industrial Design, University of Western Sydney Locked Bag 1797 Penrith South DC, NSW, 1797, Australia
Gordon D. McOrist
Affiliation:
Environment Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation PMB1, Menai, NSW, 2234, Australia
Timothy E. Payne
Affiliation:
Environment Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation PMB1, Menai, NSW, 2234, Australia
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Abstract

Diffusion and sorption are potentially the most important factors governing the transport of radionuclides in clays and under stationary subsurface environmental conditions. Preliminary studies have been performed to measure the transport of 137Cs and 60Co with no advection, using reconstituted samples of three regolith materials collected from a region in South Australia. The samples were saturated with CaSO4 solution to imitate the pore water chemistry of the in situ environment. A double diffusion cell testing apparatus made of polycarbonate resin was used to measure the transport of the selected radionuclides through the samples. A curve fitting procedure employing one-dimensional contaminant equations with a “stop-start” technique was used to estimate the diffusion (D) and sorption coefficients (Kd) from the measured concentration-time profiles. Results from these experiments are compared with those obtained from batch sorption tests.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 713: Symposium JJ – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXV , 2002 , JJ5.5
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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