Leaching of glass components and surrogate nuclides from glassy waste forms for radioactive incineration ash

Three kinds of soil, collected in various places (in northwestern and southeastern Poland and near Chernobyl) were used as a subject of sequential extraction and plutonium distribution study. The modified method of Tessier was applied to separate readily available, carbonate, organic, Fe/Mn oxide and residual fractions. Plutonium isotope activity in soil as well as in particular separated fractions was determined by means of alpha spectrometry. The method of plutonium separation and purification for alpha-spectrometric measurements was modified according to the chemical properties of the extracted fraction. It was found that the major part (about 90%) of ^239,240Pu is bound to organic and Fe/Mn oxide fractions (in uncultivated soil samples of northwestern Poland and Chernobyl). In soil samples coming from river valley (southeastern Poland) almost equal amounts of plutonium are distributed between the available, organic and residual fractions.