Sorption of cesium on boreal forest soil I: the effect of grain size, organic matter and mineralogy

The sorption of cesium was studied using humus and mineral soil samples. The effect of grain size, soil depth, organic matter and mineralogy were evaluated. The smallest grain size showed the highest sorption whilst it was rather equal for larger grains sizes. The sorption of cesium increased with soil depth being the lowest in the humus. Among the mineral soil layers the highest retention was found in the layer enriched with clay fraction. Muscovite retained cesium fairly well in pure water and model soil solution. Quartz showed the poorest sorption in both solutions.