The accumulation of radiocesium in coarse marine sediment: Effects of mineralogy and organic matter

The controlling factors affecting the accumulation of 137Cs in marine sediment have not been investigated in detail, especially in coarse grained sediment. Eighty eight coarse marine sediment samples near Wuljin, Korea, were characterized by quantitative X-ray-diffraction (XRD), gamma-ray, and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Those factors were then compared. The grain size was in the range of −0.48 to 3.6 Mdϕ corresponding to sand grains. TOC content was in the range of 0.06–1.75%, and the concentration of 137Cs was