Radiocaesium dispersion and fixation in the lagoon systems of “Ria de Aveiro”, Portugal

Radiocaesium (137Cs) dispersion and Cs+ fixation were studied in the sediments collected from the lagoon systems of “Ria de Aveiro”. The Cs+ sorption was tested for the fine mica grains and for the < 2 μm clay fractions extracted from silty clays. The Cs+ exchange is found strongly onto mica-rich fractions than smectite-rich fractions. The distribution coefficient increases if the silty material is constituted by rich-mica clay fractions or if the non-clay minerals are removed from the silty-clay material. The samples studied behave as multisite ion exchange, where Cs+ engages in ion-exchange reactions with hydrated cations on planar sites on expansible layer silicates. Higher concentrations of the 137Cs were found associated with mica-rich silty clays. The 137Cs ranges from 3.2 to 3.9 Bq kg− 1 in the < 38 μm fractions and from 2.9 to 3.3 Bq kg− 1 in the < 64 μm fractions.