Diffusion and sorption behavior of HTO, Cs, I and U in mortar

Akagi, Yosuke*; Kato, Hiroyasu*; Tachi, Yukio  ; Sakamoto, Hiroyuki*

A large amount of radioactive contaminated concrete will be generated from the decommissioning in the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). For developing the plans of decommissioning and waste management including decontamination and disposal, it is important to estimate radionuclides inventory and concentration distribution in the concrete materials. In this study, effective diffusivities (De) and distribution coefficients (Kd) of HTO, Cs, I and U in OPC mortar were measured by through-diffusion and batch sorption experiments. De values derived were in the sequence of HTO, I, Cs, U, implying that cation exclusion effects may be important mechanisms in OPC mortar. Kd values derived by batch tests were higher by more than one order of magnitude than the diffusion-derived Kd values, indicating that crushing of samples had a strong influence on sorption. Diffusion and sorption mechanisms in OPC mortar were evaluated to predict the penetration behavior of these radionuclides.