Sorption, degradation, and transport of methyl iodide and other iodine species in geologic media

Iodine is an important element in studies of human nutrition to combat I deficiency disorders, and in protection of the environment and human health from anthropogenic release of radioactive I. Biogeochemical cycling of I in the subsurface environment is complex, because it occurs in multiple oxidation states and as inorganic and organic species that may be volatile, hydrophilic and biophilic. Predicting the fate and transport of anthropogenic radioiodine deposited from the atmosphere or released into the subsurface requires knowledge of the sorption and degradation behavior of the various I species that may interact with soils and sediments. In this study, sorption, degradation, and transport behavior of I species (iodide, iodate, methyl iodide, and 4-iodoaniline) were examined in 12 geologic samples of differing physico-chemical characteristics, collected at numerous nuclear facilities in the USA. In particular, this work focuses on the sorption and degradation behavior of CH3I in geologic media, for which few studies are available, even though it is recognized as an important gaseous form of I in the marine atmosphere, and as a major form released from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities and during nuclear accidents. Results from complementary batch and column experiments show that different I species exhibit very different sorption and transport behavior in geologic media. Sorption of I− is in general minimal, but a low concentration (5 × 10−13 M) of radioactive 125I is found to be strongly sorbed onto samples with high organic matter. Sorption of IO 3 - is consistently greater than that of I−, and sorption of 4-iodoaniline is generally strong and seems to be related to the amount of organic matter in the media. Methyl iodide is weakly sorbed onto 12 geologic samples with a distribution coefficient of about 1 mL/g, but its degradation varies greatly as a function of organic matter content, with a regression line of t1/2 = 0.084 × OM + 0.088 (R2 = 0.898, N = 6) where t1/2 is the degradation half-life and OM is the organic matter content. These results will be useful in predicting the mobility of anthropogenic radioactive I deposited on a soil surface, and highlight the fact that it will exhibit different residence times according to its original chemical form and to the composition of host sediments.