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Experimental Validation of Retardation of Tritium Migration in the Chinese Loess Media

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Abstract

Retardation of tritium migration in the Chinese loess media was studied through column experiments by comparison of the migration velocity with other three “non-adsorptive” tracers of Br−, 99Tc, and 131I. Results showed that the transport peak of Br− was 1.25 times earlier than that of tritium when the tracers were simultaneously injected into the column, and the migration of 99Tc was even 1.60 times faster than 3H when the tracers were simultaneously injected. For iodine, it was only 1.02 times faster than that of tritium, but it should not be ignored. It reflected that the transport of 3H, compared to that of Br−, 99Tc, or 131I in the loess media, was retarded. In order to validate the adsorption behavior of tritium on loess, batch tests were carried out using Chinese loess soil. The experimental results indicated that the adsorption of tritium was actual existence, and the distribution coefficient of tritium is influenced by initial activity of tritium, pH, water/solid ratio, and the content of humic and fulvic acids.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation in China (no. 40773055), Important National Science & Technology Specific Projects in China (no. 2008ZX07207-007 and no. 2009ZX07419-003), and Program of Ministry of Education (NCET-09-0230).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Rui Zuo, Yanguo Teng, Jinsheng Wang & Minli Guo

  2. Engineering Research Center of Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100875, China

    Rui Zuo, Yanguo Teng, Jinsheng Wang & Minli Guo

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Qinhong Hu

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  1. Rui Zuo
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  2. Yanguo Teng
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  3. Jinsheng Wang
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  4. Qinhong Hu
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  5. Minli Guo
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Correspondence to Yanguo Teng.

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Zuo, R., Teng, Y., Wang, J. et al. Experimental Validation of Retardation of Tritium Migration in the Chinese Loess Media. Water Air Soil Pollut 215, 497–506 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0494-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0494-x

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