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The Leaching of Radiostrontium and Radiocesium Through Soils¹

ABSTRACT

Sr⁹⁰ and Cs¹³⁷ are hazardous, long-lived, nuclear fission products. Experiments were conducted in the greenhouse to determine their downward movement in soils under intensive leaching. The five soils (Norfolk, Hagerstown, Miami, Fort Collins, and Huntley series) selected for the investigation represented a wide range of soil properties, and the leaching treatments consisted of 30 inches and 300 inches of deionized water, 0.005N NaCl, and 0.005N CaCl₂. There was little downward movement of Cs¹³⁴ when the soils received the applications of deionized water, NaCl, or CaCl₂. Radioactive assays of the soil columns showed that 96.6 to 100% of the Cs¹³⁴ was in the surface two layers of the soil columns (average depth 1.4 inches) after 300 inches of leaching. In the leaching experiment with Sr, the CaCl₂ produced the greatest movement of Sr⁸⁹ and deionized water the least. The maximum distance Sr⁸⁹ penetrated into the soils when leached with 30 inches of water was 1.3 inches, and with 300 inches of water the distance was 4.3 inches. In general, there was more movement of Sr⁸⁹ in the Norfolk soil and least in the Huntley, with the other soils being intermediate.

¹ Contribution from the Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, Md. This research was supported by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Presented before Div. I and II, Soil Science Society of America, Nov. 30, 1961, at St. Louis, Mo.

² Formerly soil scientists, USDA. Currently Associate Professor of Soils, Department of Agronomy, University of Maryland, and Soil Scientist, Division of Biology and Medicine, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, respectively.

Received for publication April 11, 1962. Accepted for publication June 26, 1962.