Determination of distribution ratio for 60Co, 85Sr and 134Cs in loess medium

Distribution ratio R for 60Co, 85Sr and 134Cs between loess and ground water was measured by using 16 loess samples taken from the field test site of China Institute for Radiation Protection, in which the field test of radionuclide migration had been performed. The R of each radionuclide was taken nearly constant value among 16 samples. This revealed that the site can be regarded as uniform loess medium from the view point of sorption ability. The sorption ability between the three radionuclides was the order of 134Cs > 60Co >> 85Sr. The 85Sr was an available nuclide for examining the migration phenomena, because 85Sr might easily migrate in the loess medium due to its low sorption ability. The results of parametric check suggested that it is necessary to select the valid temperature and pH for determining the R value. The sorption of Sr on the loess was dominated by reversible ion-exchange reaction, while that of Co and Cs was dominated by irreversible one. (author)