Plutonium in trench leachates at the Maxey Flats radioactive waste disposal site exists as dissolved species, primarily complexes of the tetravalent ion with strong organic ligands such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The complexes are not sorbed well by sediment and are only partly precipitated by ferric hydroxide. These results indicate the importance of isolating radioactive waste from organic matter.

The use of a single-bowl continuous-flow centrifuge (CFC, Sharples-Pennwalt Model AS-12) for dewatering suspended sediment from large volumes of river water is evaluated. Sediment-recovery efficiency of 86-91 per cent is comparable to that of other types of CFC units. The recovery efficiency is limited by the particle-size distribution of the feed water and by the limiting particle diameter that is retained in the centrifuge bowl. The limiting particle diameter, using the parameters for this study (bowl radius = 10.5 cm; bowl length = 71.1 cm; rotational velocity = 16000r min-l; flow rate = 2 L min-', and an assumed hydrated particle density = 1.7 gm is 370 nm. There seems to be no particle-size fractionation within the centrifuge bowl-the median particle size was the same at the top as at the bottom. Particle electrophoretic mobility plays some role in fractionation of particles within the centrifuge. The mobility ranged from -1.19 to -2.01 x 10-8m2 V -l s -I , which is typical of clays coated with organic matter, the charge of which is partially neutralized by divalent cations and iron. Contamination by trace metals and organics is minimized by coating all surfaces that come in contact with the sample with either FEP or PFA Teflon and using a removable FEP Teflon liner in the centrifuge bowl. Because of the physical and chemical factors affecting particle fractionation within the centrifuge, care must be exercised in interpreting the environmental consequences of particles collected by continuous-flow centrifugation.

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