Laser ablation microprobe inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry study on diffusion of uranium into cement materials

The diffusion of uranium (U(VI)) in solid cement monoliths of ordinary portland cement (OPC) and low-heat portland cement containing 30 wt. % fly ash (FAC) was measured by an in-diffusion technique. Detailed sharp depth profiles of uranium in the solid cement matrices were successively and quantitatively measured using laser ablation microprobe inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LAMP-ICP-MS), and the apparent (D_a) and effective (D_e) diffusion coefficient of uranium in cement matrix were calculated as: D_a =∼ 4 × 10^-16 m² s^-1 and D_e =∼ 3 × 10^-11 m² s^-1 for OPC, and D_a =∼ 2 × 10^-17 m² s^-1 and D_e =∼ 6 × 10^-13 m² s^-1 for FAC.