Analysis of soil aggregates contaminated by 137Cs via particle size classification and X-ray diffraction

Abstract

We subjected [Formula: see text]Cs-contaminated soil to stirring and particle classification to reduce the contaminated soil volume. [Formula: see text]Cs activity as a function of particle diameter changed drastically as the weight ratio of soil/water varied; 85% of all [Formula: see text]Cs was adsorbed to particles of minimum diameter after stirring. Soil argillites (smectites, vermiculites, and illites) adsorbed [Formula: see text]Cs. We used X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to measure the soil contents; the [Formula: see text]Cs distribution as a function of soil particle diameter mirrored the smectite levels revealed by the XRD peak intensities. Thus, smectic was the main absorbent of [Formula: see text]Cs.