Decontaminating Radioactive Ocean Areas through Flocculation

The removal of radioactivity from natural sea water was studied in regard to the feasibility of decontaminating ocean areas. A quantitative study of selected decontaminants showed the over-all superiority of sodium silicate, 0.55 gram of which removed up to 35% of the radioactivity from a 4-foot-high sea water column. Multiple additions of the silicate showed that up to 80% of the mixed fission product may be removed in a static sea water system. A successful decontaminant for sea water could be used to reduce the radiological hazard from marine foods as well as to reduce greatly the radiation in a contaminated harbor. (auth)