The bioaccessibility of low level radionuclides from two Savannah river site soils

Risk assessments for inorganic contaminated soils are often based on total concentration of a contaminant. However, strong binding of metals in soil can reduce the oral bioavailability. Since oral bioavailability of inorganics is generally less than 100% and partially dissolution-limited, human gastrointestinal dissolution models that measure bioaccessibility instead of the total extractable mass should be used to develop radionuclide source terms. For the reported study, a published bioaccessibility method was modified to allow measurements of bioaccessible radionuclides. The technique can be used to model human exposure and radionuclide dose from soil ingestion pathways. A step that included the addition of organic acids to the gastrointestinal fluids did not considerably affect the bioaccessibility of 90Sr and 137Cs. The bioaccessibility of 137Cs in the soils was significantly correlated to soil physicochemical characteristics, with a negative correlation with clay content, while 90Sr was significantly correlated to calcium bioaccessibility. These relationships can be used to prioritize remediation according to soil type.