• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 2016

Soil can be contaminated by radioactive materials due to nuclide leakage following unexpected situations during the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant. Soil decontamination is necessary if contaminated land is to be reused for housing or industry. The present study classifies various soil remediation technologies into biological, physics/chemical and thermal treatment and analyzes their principles and treatment materials. Among these methods, this study selects technologies and categorizes the economics, applicability and technical characteristics of each technology into three levels of high, medium and low by weighting the various factors. Based on this analysis, the most applicable soil decontamination technology was identified.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.709-717
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• 2008

Rhizofiltration for cesium uptake by sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris var.) was investigated for groundwater contamination. The cesium removal by sunflowers was greater than 98% of the total cesium in solution, and the uptake by beans was also greater than 99% within 24 hours of the rhizofiltration, showing that the rhizofiltration has a great capability to remove cesium from the contaminated water system. Experiments at various pH of solution indicated that a solution of pH $5{\sim}9$ yielded very high cesium accumulation in two plants. From the results of the analysis for cesium accumulation in plant parts, about 80% of cesium transferred into the plant from solution was accumulated in the root part and less than 20% of cesium existed in the shoot part (including leaves). Results suggest that only the roots of the fully grown plant used for rhizofiltration should be disposed or post-treated and thus the cost and time to treat massive amounts of grown plants could be dramatically reduced when sunflower and bean are used in the real field. The results of SEM and EDS analyses indicated that the most of cesium were accumulated in the root surface as a ionic phase rather than a soil precipitation phase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.696-700
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• 2003

$H_2SO_4$ and citric acid had higher extraction efficiency of $^{137}Cs$ from soil than the other chemicals. Thus, $H_2SO_4$and citric acid were used as additives on remediation experiment by electrokinetic method to increase removal efficiency of $^{137}Cs$ from the radioactive soil being stored during a long time. An average velocity of effluent discharged from experimental column $2.0{\times}10^{-2}$/cm/min and a volume of the discharged soil wastewater for 10 days is 3.6 Pore Volume. The 54% of a total of $^{137}Cs$ in the column was decontaminated for 10 days. Furthermore, the predicted values of residual concentration by the developed model were quite similar to those obtained from experiments.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.61-69
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• 2014

Carboxymethyl-${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (${\beta}$-CMCD), as a biodegradable surfactant with hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, has potential advantages of being applicable to the simultaneous treatment of multiple contaminated soils. In this study, the desorption behaviors of r adionuclides such as cobalt (Co), strontium (Sr), and cesium (Cs) from the soil contaminated with them were experimentally investigated and the effectiveness of CMCD as a desorbent was evaluated. The desorption equilibrium of used radionuclides could be achieved within 1~3 hr and the desorption ratio from kaolin was higher than that from natural soil. The addition of CMCD of 2 g/L increased the desorption ratio by 5~20 % and the desorption ratio of used r adionuclides was shown in the order of Co > Cs > Sr. The experimental desorption data were fitted successfully by pseudo-second order kinetic model and the desorption rate of the r adionuclides was shown in the order of Cs > Co > Sr. Hysteresis between adsorption and desorption of the r adionuclides, as shown in the order of Sr > Co > Cs, increased as the desorption rate decreased. Consequently, it could be considered that the desorption rate was one of the significant factors of the hysteresis. The addition of CMCD as desorbent increased the amount of desorbed radionuclides and decreased the hysteresis. However, the CMCD could not completely desorb the radionuclides from soils even though the excess of CMCD was added.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2019

The accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) resulted in the deposition of large quantities of radionuclides over parts of eastern Japan. Radioactive contaminants have been observed over a large area including forests, cities, rivers and lakes. Due to the strong adsorption of radioactive cesium by soil particles, radioactive cesium migrates with the eroded soil, follows the surface flow paths, and is delivered downstream of population-rich regions and eventually to coastal areas. In this study, we developed a model to simulate the transport of contaminated sediment in a watershed hydrological system and this model was compared with observation data from eroded soil observation instruments located at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Two methods were applied to analyze the soil particle size distribution of the collected soil samples, including standardized sieve analysis and image analysis methods. Numerical models were developed to simulate the movement of soil along with actual rainfall considering initial saturation, rainfall infiltration, multilayer and rain splash. In the 2019 study, a numerical model will be used to add rainfall shield effect by trees, evaporation effect and shield effects of surface water. An eroded soil observation instrument has been installed near the Wolsong nuclear power plant since 2018 and observation data are being continuously collected. Based on these observations data, we will develop the numerical model to analyze long-term behavior of radionuclides on land as they move from land to rivers, lakes and coastal areas.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.304-313
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• 2016

One of the issues currently facing nuclear power plants is how to store spent nuclear waste materials which are contaminated with radionuclides such as $^{134}Cs$, $^{135}Cs$, and $^{137}Cs$. Bioremediation processes may offer a potent method of cleaning up radioactive cesium. However, there have only been limited reports on $Cs^+$ tolerant bacteria. In this study, we report the isolation and identification of $Cs^+$ tolerant bacteria in environmental soil and sediment. The resistant $Cs^+$ isolates were screened from enrichment cultures in R2A medium supplemented with 100 mM CsCl for 72 h, followed by microbial community analysis based on sequencing analysis from 16S rRNA gene clone libraries(NCBI's BlastN). The dominant Bacillus anthracis Roh-1 and B. cereus Roh-2 were successfully isolated from the cesium enrichment culture. Importantly, B. cereus Roh-2 is resistant to 30% more $Cs^+$ than is B. anthracis Roh-1 when treated with 50 mM CsCl. Growth experiments clearly demonstrated that the isolate had a higher tolerance to $Cs^+$. In addition, we investigated the adsorption of $0.2mg\;L^{-1}$ $Cs^+$ using B. anthracis Roh-1. The maximum $Cs^+$ biosorption capacity of B. anthracis Roh-1 was $2.01mg\;g^{-1}$ at pH 10. Thus, we show that $Cs^+$ tolerant bacterial isolates could be used for bioremediation of contaminated environments.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 1985

A pot experiment was conducted to study the influence of potassium and cesium carrier on the uptake of radionuclide $Cs^{137}$ which is an element released usually from nuclear facilities, by paddy rice upon prolonged cropping of contaminated soils. The results are summarized as follows: 1) Visual toxic symptoms on the growth of rice plant due to treatment of radioactive cesium were not observed up to $20 {\mu}Ci/10Kg$ soil in a pot. 2) The yield and potassium content in rice plant were increased with potassium application, while the reverse was true for the calcium and magnesium. The addition of potassium to the soil markedly reduced $Cs^{137}$ uptake by rice plant but the addition of Cs carrier increased $Cs^{137}$ uptake. 3) Potassium and $Cs^{137}$ showed uniform distribution in all parts of plant and the contents of these two elements were high in the stems and leaves, and low in the heads. The ratio of $Cs^{137}$ to K was, however, not uniform in all parts of a plant. It was shown that this ratio was higher in the seed part, that is, chaff and hulled grain than in the leaves and stems. 4) $Cs^{137}$ absorption rate in rice plant was remarkably reduced with increase of potassium application and it was ranged from $0.02{\sim}0.47%$ in potassium non-treated plot to 0.01∼0.04% in plot treated with a concentration of 16Kg/10a. 5) The amount of $Cs^{137}$ and potassium uptake of rice plant depended on soil type. Uptake of $Cs^{137}$ by rice plant was higher in the soil with low pH and potassium content. The $Cs^{137}$ uptake by rice plant decreased as the potassium content and pH of soil was increased, but $Cs^{137}$ uptake increased when CEC and clay content in soil was high.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2008

This study examined the effect of an electrokinetic-flushing remediation for a soil of a high permeability. The soil was sampled from the site around a research atomic reactor which had high hydro-conductivities due to a high content of sand in the soil. The flow rate of the washing reagent was fast at the beginning but it was reduced as time lapsed. In the case of using citric acid as a washing reagent, the flow rate was fastest, 78.7 ml/day. The removal efficiencies of $Co^{2+}$ and $Cs^+$ from a soil cell with acetic acid were the highest, which were 95.2% and 84.2% respectively. The soil waste-solution volume generated from the electrokinetic remediation was reduced to about 1/20 of that from the soil washing remediation. Meanwhile, the electrokinetic-flushing method enhanced the removal efficiencies of $Co^{2+}$ and $Cs^+$ from the soil by about 6% and 2% respectively, compared to those by the electrokinetic method. Consequently, it was found that the electrokinetic-flushing method was more effective for the remediation of a soil with a high permeability.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.529-542
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• 2020

The cesium (Cs) sorption characteristics of a bead-type polysulfone carrier contained HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (3 - 5 mm in diameter) in water system were investigated and its Cs removal efficiency as an adsorbent from water was also identified by various laboratory experiments. From the results of batch sorption experiments, the bead-type polysulfone carrier with only 5% HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (P-5NBC) represented the high Cs removal efficiency of 57.8% for 1 hour sorption time. The Cs removal efficiency of P-5NBC in water after 24 hours reaction maintained > 69% at a wide range of pH and temperature conditions, attesting to its applicability under various water systems. Batch sorption experiments were repeated for P-5NBC coated with two cultivated microorganisms (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus drentensis), which were typical indigenous species inhabited in soil and groundwater. The Cs removal efficiency for two microorganisms coated polysulfone carrier (BP-5NBC) additionally increased by 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to that of only P-5NBC without microorganisms coated. The average Cs desorption rate of P-5NBC for 24 h was lower than 16%, showing the Cs was stably attached on HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal in so much as its long-term use. The maximum Cs sorption capacity (q_m) of P-5NBC calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model study was 60.9 mg/g, which was much higher than those of other adsorbents from previous studies for 1 h sorption time. The results of continuous column experiments showed that the P-5NBC coated with microorganisms packed in the column maintained > 80% of the Cs removal efficiency during 100 pore volumes flushing. It suggested that only 14.7 g of P-5NBC (only 0.75 g of HNO₃ treated bamboo charcoal included) can successfully clean-up 7.2 L of Cs contaminated water (the initial Cs concentration: 1 mg/L; the effluent concentration: < 0.2 mg/L). The present results suggested that the Cs contaminated water can be successfully cleaned up by using a small amount of the polysulfone carrier with HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal.