EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELLING STUDY OF ADSORPTION°DESORPTION PROCESSES WITH APPLICATION TO A DEEP-WELL INJECTION RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL SITE

Radionuclide (Sr-90 and Cs-137) behavior in the subsurface environment was evaluated with respect to natural attenuation, sorption and desorption kinetics, and equilibrium. Samples of sedimentary rock were selected as the solid phase from a radioactively contaminated site associated with deep-well injection of the radioactive waste. Groundwater and a NaNO3 waste–brine solution were used as the liquid phase. All experiments revealed hysteresis in radionuclide adsorption. Moreover, some of the experiments indicated that the adsorption process may be irreversible.