Influence of major cations of sea water on the desorption of137Cs from marine sediments

Desorption studies of137Cs from marine sediments by artificial sea water and artificial sea water devoid of individual major cations such as Na, K, Ca, Mg and Sr indicated that only Na and K were effective in the desorption of137Cs. Studies with various ionic strengths ranginf from 0.01 to 1.6M KCl and NaCl solutions showed that KCl desorbs constantly about 45%137Cs at and above an ionic strength of 0.1. In case of NaCl, the percent desorption increases linearly with ionic strength. The difference in desorption by K and Na is attributed to the contraction of the clay mineral layers by K ion and expansion of the layers by Na ion.