Study of the factors affecting the sorption and fixation of radiocesium on some egyptian soil sediments

The present work with studying the use of egyptian soil samples for the sorption and fixation of low level activity wastes containing Cs-134 isotope. This radioactive isotope is one of the most important radionuclides found in low and intermediate level waste streams, as a fission product. The sorption process of radiocesium by the soil samples is governed by a number of variables such as the physical, mineralogical and chemical composition of the samples, effect of carrier ion concentrations,contact time, saturation with different cations and heat treatment of the soil samples . The effect of these variables had been investigated. The sorption behavior of Cs has been explained by applying Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin-Raduskevich equations. sorption of Cs can also be described on a laboratory time scale by more than one kinetic process. About 30 soil samples, supplied from the institute of metallurgy and the geological survey administration in egypt, were brought from different locations from the egyptian desert. These samples represent areas from Fayom, Wadi El-Rayan, Cairo Fayom Road, Quasr El-Sagha, North of the Eastern desert (egyptian vermiculite) and cairo - alexandria desert road(at 46 - 48 km from cairo). A pure german sample was used as a reference smectite clay for comparing the physical, chemical and mineralogical properties