Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 July 2018
Activation products of neutron-irradiated chrysotile and crocidolite which have suitable half-lives have been used as tracers to investigate the attenuation of fibres in media likely to be encountered in groundwater systems. The saturated and unsaturated filtration of chrysotile and crocidolite through columns of beads, gravel and sands is compared. The migration pattern of crocidolite through columns of disturbed and relatively undisturbed Greensand is then compared with the filtration through washed and sieved sand of the same porosity. The main factors affecting the filtration of particles are outlined, and the experimental results obtained are correlated with models used to describe general filtration theory. This is shown to provide a basis from which pollution control models may be derived and indicates that the principles underlying particle filtration will apply to particle migration in any fluid-filled system.