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K. Vaaramaa, Jukka Lehto, H. Ervanne

Soluble and particle-bound ^234,238U, ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Po in ground waters

Water of five drilled wells was filtered with three membranes (pore size 0.45μm-5kD) to determine the soluble and particle-bound forms of ^234,238U, ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Po. Three of the waters were of Ca-HCO₃ type and two of Na-Cl type. Some of the waters also exhibited high concentrations of Fe, Mn and humic substances. ^234,238U was present entirely in soluble form in all waters, probably as uranyl ion (UO₂²⁺) in soluble carbonate complexes. ²²⁶Ra was in soluble form in the waters with low concentrations of Fe and Mn, but 10 of the total ²²⁶Ra activity was bound to particles in the Fe-Mn-rich waters. The behaviour of Po varied with water composition. Particle-bound ²¹⁰Po was observed to correlate with the combined concentration of iron and manganese in the raw waters. In the two of waters of Na-Cl type, in which the concentrations of Fe, Mn and humic substances were high, salinity of the waters did not enhance the solubility of polonium. Polonium was present in both soluble and particle-bound forms in all the ground waters.

Radiochimica Acta, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag

Print ISSN: 0033-8230
Volume: 91, 01/2003
Pages: 021

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