Possible role of organic matter in radiocaesium adsorption in soils

The aim of this review is to examine the hypothesis that organic matter decreases the adsorption of radiocaesium on clay minerals. The factors that determine radiocaesium mobility and bioavailability in soil are briefly outlined to show why a relationship between soil organic matter content and enhanced Cs bioavailability is paradoxical. In all the investigations reviewed the ionic compositions of both the solid and the solution phases have been strictly controlled. We show that the addition of organic matter to reference clay minerals causes decreases of up to an order of magnitude in the distribution coefficient of radiocaesium. Similarly, the chemical removal of organic matter from the clay-sized fraction of soil usually leads to an increase in Cs adsorption. We suggest that the nature of the organic matter and its interaction with mineral surfaces are as important as the amount present.