Evaluation of Migration of Cesium-137 Adsorbed on Fine Soil Particles through Natural Aerated Soil Layer

Abstract

In order to evaluate migration of 137Cs adsorbed on fine soil particles in natural aerated soil layers, filtration constants of fine soil particles between soil and pore water were determined by the inverse analysis of the results of a large scale indoor migration test (STEM) using the soil layer samples collected from the natural aerated soil layers of Tokai and Rokkasho-mura without any disturbance. The amounts of 13,Cs which migrated through the soil layer samples with the movement of fine soil particles were also determined by the inverse analysis. The filtration constant for a loamy soil layer was larger than that for a sandy soil layer and the dependence of the filtration constant on mean diameter was the same as that obtained in small scale column experiments. On the other hand, the amount of 137Cs which migrated through the soil layer sample with the movement of fine soil particles was 0.15~6.5% of introduced 137Cs and dependent on size distribution and solidification degree of the soil layer sample. Therefore, it seems that the amount of 137Cs which migrates to a long distance with the movement of fine soil particles is small in the case of a fine and solidified soil layer. A trial evaluation of the migration of 137Cs adsorbed on fine soil particles using the result of the analysis showed that the concentration decreasing effect of Rokkasho's soil layer including the loamy soil layer was larger than that of Tokai's sandy soil layer.