14C and125I Labelling of Humic Material for Use in Environmental Studies

Humic and fulvic acids are present in nearly all natural waters. These acids are known to affect the transport of environmental contaminants such as metals and hydrophobic organics through the terrestrial environment. an understanding of their role in the transport of contaminants is therefore essential and is facilitated if the acid is labelled with a suitable radioactive label. This paper reports the use of 14C-methylamine and 125I to label humic acid with either 14C or 125I and investigates factors which affect the yield of these reactions. the stability and mobility of the labelled humic material through sand is also reported.