The possibilities of reagent-based processing of sandy soil contaminated with 137Cs are examined. To attain a high decontamination factor, the process is conducted in several steps. First, water-gravity separation is used to separate finely dispersed matter (first step). The main goal of the next (second) reagent-based processing step is to destroy the strongly bound fragments and hydroxide films with which a part of the finely dispersed fraction is bound. At the next step, part of the 137Cs is extracted into the reagent solution from the purely sandy fraction; repeated water-gravity separation (third step) makes it possible to completely separate the finely dispersed substance. The subsequent steps of reagent-based processing give 137Cs concentration in the sandy fraction of the initial soils that meets the sanitary norms.
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 111, No. 1, pp. 29–33, July, 2011.
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Dmitriev, S.A., Barinov, A.S. & Kuptsov, V.M. Stepped decontamination of 137Cs-contaminated sandy soil. At Energy 111, 37–41 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-011-9450-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-011-9450-0