STUDIES ON THE DEPOSITION AND REMOVAL OF RADIOACTIVE SOIL1

Abstract

The rate of deposition and removal of a radioactive milk soil from several surfaces have been studied. The nature of the surface exhibited a small but measurable effect on the rate of deposition of a radioactive milk soil on the surfaces tested. However, the surfaces showed no significant effect on the rate of soil removal. The build-up that took place on all surfaces due to repeated soilings without washing was not a simple additive accumulation of residue but appeared to be a selective deposit of a residue slowly laid down over a period of time and difficuit to remove. As the accumulated residue increased, a point was reached beyond which there was no significant difference among surfaces in the rate of soil build-up. Subsequent washing removed only part of the soil and even repeated washings had little effect unless special heavy duty cleaning was applied. (Publ. Health Eng. Abstr.).