The behaviour of cesium 137, chromium 51, cobalt 60, Manganese 54, sodium 22 and zinc 65 in simulated estuarine environments. Effects of suspended mineral particles and dissolved organic matters

This laboratory investigation studied the retention of 6 radionuclides (cesium 137, chrome 51, cobalt 60, manganese 54, sodium 22 and zinc 65) on three types of clay particles (kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite) and on sediments, suspended in media with salinities ranging between 0 and 34 per mill, with or without organic matters. Measurement of the radioactivity retained by the particles after 5 days' contact with the radionuclide made it possible to calculate the percentages retained and the distribution coefficients, and to follow their evolution versus salinity. Parallel experiments studied the behaviours of the 6 radionuclides as a function of experimental factors (wall effect, contact time..). An exhaustive bibliographic review gives the state-of-the-art of the knowledge. The following conclusions were derived: - the retention of all the radionuclides but chromium 51 decreased as soon as a low salinity appeared. Chromium (available as Cr3+) precipitated quickly and strongly during fixation whatever the surfaces or the conditions: - as for the role of the clay type, illite showed a strong affinity for cesium 137; manganese 54 had a particular behaviour with montmorillonite that enhanced its precipitation into MnO2; with cobalt, sodium and zinc, the percentages retained were always <= 20% and the type of clay had little effect; - dissolved organic matters had little effect on the behaviour of cesium or chromium; for sodium and zinc, strong complexation occured with the organic matter which was retained on the particles; cobalt and manganese gave intermediate results; - attempts to modeling emphasized the specific feature of the various reactions (adsorption by exchange with some compensating cations, absorption in the crystal lattice, surface retention of particular compounds)