SummaryThe behavior of strontium and cesium on soil from the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), located on the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho, USA, was investigated using sequential aqueous extractions and batch sorption methods over six orders of magnitude in aqueous ion concentration. Sequential extractions revealed that most Sr is retained in the operationally-defined ion exchangeable and carbonate fractions, while Cs is predominantly found in the residual fraction. Strontium sorption was reversible, while Cs was not, except at the lowest concentrations. Freundlich isotherms can describe sorption of both metals at low aqueous concentrations, but Langmuir isotherms were needed to describe Cs and Sr sorption over the entire range used in this study. Slightly higher sorption was observed for both when experiments were repeated on soil that was treated to remove carbonates.
Determination of Background Uranium Concentration in the Snake River Plain Aquifer under the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory's Radioactive Waste Management Complex
