Radium geochemistry in Na-Cl type groundwater in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

Radium isotopes in 23 Na-Cl type groundwater sampled mainly from deep wells in Niigata Prefecture, which is the site of the largest oil- and gas-fields in Japan, were measured along with U isotopes, chemical components and hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios to elucidate the distribution and behavior of Ra in a brackish environment underground. Also analyzed were U and Th isotopes in 38 rock samples collected from outcrops at 17 locations. Ra-226 concentrations (8.86-1637 mBq kg(-1)) of groundwater samples roughly correlated with total dissolved solid (TDS) concentrations and other alkaline earth contents. Their (228)Ra/(226)Ra activity ratios (0.32-5.2) were similar to or higher than the (232)Th/(238)U activity ratios (0.6-1.7) in the rocks. The most likely transport mechanism of Ra isotopes into groundwater was due to their alpha-recoil from the solid phase, probably from the water-rock interface where Th isotopes had accumulated, and adsorption/desorption reaction based on the increase in (226)Ra contents with TDS.