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TECHNICAL REPORT
Heavy Metals in the Environment

Immobilization of Cesium-137 and Uranium in Contaminated Sediments Using Soil Amendments

Advanced Analytical Center for Environmental Sciences, Savannah River Ecology Lab., Univ. of Georgia, Aiken, SC 29802

* Corresponding author (seaman{at}srel.edu)

Received for publication March 31, 2000. Batch and dynamic leaching methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of hydroxyapatite (HA), illite, and zeolite, alone and in combination, as soil additives for reducing the migration of cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs⁺) and uranium (U) from contaminated sediments. Amendment treatments ranging from 0 to 50 g kg^-1 were added to the sediment and equilibrated in 0.001 M CaCl₂. After equilibration, the treatment supernatants were analyzed for ¹³⁷Cs⁺, U, PO₄, and other metals. The residual sediments were then extracted overnight using one of the following: 1.0 M NH₄Cl, 0.5 M CaCl₂, or the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) extractant. Cesium was strongly sorbed to the contaminated sediments, presumably due to interlayer fixation within native illitic clays. In fact, ¹³⁷Cs⁺ was below detection limits in the initial equilibration solutions, the CaCl₂ extract, and the TCLP solution, regardless of amendment. Extractants selective for interlayer cations (1.0 M NH₄Cl) were necessary to extract measurable levels of ¹³⁷Cs⁺. Addition of illitic clays further reduced Cs⁺ extractability, even when subjected to the aggressive extractants. Zeolite, however, was ineffective in reducing Cs⁺ mobility when subjected to the aggressive extractants. Hydroxyapatite was less effective than illite at reducing NH⁺₄–extractable Cs⁺. Hydroxyapatite, and mixtures of HA with illite or zeolite, were highly effective in reducing U extractability in both batch and leaching tests. Uranium immobilization by HA was rapid with similar final U concentrations observed for equilibration times ranging from 1 h to 30 d. The current results demonstrate the effectiveness of soil amendments in reducing the mobility of U and Cs⁺, which makes in-place immobilization an effective remediation alternative.

Abbreviations: HA, hydroxyapatite • ICP–MS, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry • SRL, Savannah River Laboratory • SRS, Savannah River Site • TCLP, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure

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