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Geochemical fractionation of radiocesium in coral atoll soil

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Abstract

This study investigates the fractionation of 137Cs across the geological phases of coral soils using a sequential extraction scheme. For three of the four soil samples analyzed, the largest fraction of radiocesium (70–80%) was associated with the final fraction or “acid-soluble” phase of soil, which would typically include clays and other refractory minerals that are difficult to destroy. This is common behavior for radiocesium due to its strong affinity for clays, but surprising here because these primarily calcium carbonate soils contain very minimal amounts of such minerals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Seaborg Institute internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and funding from the Office of Science SCGSR program (M.K. Hoffman and R. Kips), which were instrumental in the planning of the research. We would also like to thank Mavrik Zavarin for his insights and comments while writing this manuscript. The sample “Bikini 5” was provided Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, 2600 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    M. Kathryn Hoffman

  2. Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 2600 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Henry B. Spitz

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  1. M. Kathryn Hoffman
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  2. Henry B. Spitz
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Correspondence to M. Kathryn Hoffman.

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Hoffman, M.K., Spitz, H.B. Geochemical fractionation of radiocesium in coral atoll soil. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 327, 1143–1148 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07608-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07608-z

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