Evaluation of physicochemical properties of radioactive cesium in municipal solid waste incineration fly ash by particle size classification and leaching tests

Fujii, Kengo*; Ochi, Kotaro   ; Obuchi, Atsushi*; Koike, Yuya*

After the Fukushima Daiichi-Nuclear Power Plant accident, environmental recovery was a major issue because a considerable amount of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash was highly contaminated with radioactive cesium. In this study, MSWI fly ash was sampled in Fukushima Prefecture, and the physicochemical properties of radioactive cesium in MSWI fly ash were evaluated by particle size classification and the Japanese leaching test No. 13 (JLT-13). The results obtained from the classification of fly ash indicated that the activity concentration of radioactive cesium and the content of the coexisting matter (i.e., chloride, potassium, and sylvite) temporarily change in response to the particle size of fly ash. X-ray diffraction results indicated that water-soluble radioactive cesium exists as CsCl because of the cooling process and that insoluble cesium is bound to the inner sphere of amorphous matter.