ee 5a alOea as 16 3.3-2 Physical-Chemical States and Observations in situ Lai and Goya (1966) showed that plutonium metal reacts aly with seawatic stelding a nonuniform distribution of solid reaction products of which only about one yo per day went into solution for each mg of reaction product produced. Kubose et al. (1968) investigated the dissolution cf C3E ud. microspheres (Pu02 is formed only at high temperatures) placed in sea Sediment. The dissolution rate determined after five months’ exposure was believed to be dependent on the development of an oraanic encrustation forming over the 238 Pulo spheres. The dissolution rate of these microspheres, assuming a mean microsphere diameter of 100 um, was about 4 ng/me/s (Patterson et al., 1974). When similar dissolution rate studes at temperatures of 120 ar4+ 199 C were carried out, large reductions in the dissolution rates were attributed to the formation of a calcium sulphate coating on the Pu02 spheres (Yubose et al., 1967a). Recently, Patterson et al. (op. cit.) reviewed the literature dealing with the dissolution of Pus under environmental conditions. These investi- gators haveehontetst that the dissolution of Pu, during its first few hours of contact with seawater is on the order of 100 times higher than that occurring at later times. They also showed that the dissolution rate of 239 Pudo is on te order of 100 times lower than the rate for 238ou0,, 22s The higher rates for Fu%2 dissolution can be attributed to the much higher specific alpha radio- activity of 2385 Linaren (1966) found that when either Pu (III), Pu (IV), PuOo++ or dis. sci} ve” plutonium metal was equilbrated with seawater, about 30% of the resulting species are anionic and about 70% are nonmigrating in an electric ¢ ‘4 ‘e't. . . : Wher high fired Pu0. was dissolved in seawater, however, the distribu- Line was 22" anionic, 23% cationic and 55% nonmigrating. Lingren suggests