Understanding the mobility and retention of uranium and its daughter products

Combined U-Pb isotopic signatures of U mill tailings from France and Gabon: A new potential tracer to assess their fingerprint on the environment

Uranium milling activities have produced high volumes of long-lived radioactive processed wastes stored worldwide in near surface environment. The aim of this study is to highlight relevant tracers that can be used for environmental impact assessment studies involving U mill tailings. A multi-tracer study involving elemental content, ²³⁸U decay products disequilibria and stable Pb isotopes was performed in different types of U mill tailings (alkaline, acid, neutralized acid) collected from five Tailings Management Facilities in France (Le Bosc, L'Ecarpière, Le Bernardan, and Bellezane) and Gabon (Mounana). Our results showed that U and Pb concentrations range between 30 and 594 ppm and 66-805 ppm, respectively. These tailings have a strong disequilibrium of (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) and (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) activity ratios (1.27-1.87 and 6-65, respectively), as well as higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb (1.86-7.15) and lower ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb (0.22-2.39) compared to geochemical background ((²³⁴U/²³⁸U) and (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) equal to unity; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 1.20; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 2.47). In situ analyzes (SEM, SIMS) showed that Pb-bearing phases with high ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb are related to remaining U-rich phases, S-rich phases and potentially clay minerals or oxyhydroxides. We suggest that the combination of the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb with the (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) ratio is a relevant tool for the fingerprinting of the impact of U milling activities on the environment.

A conveniently synthesized redox-active fluorescent covalent organic framework for selective detection and adsorption of uranium

Uranium is a key element in the nuclear industry and also a global environmental contaminant with combined highly toxic and radioactive. Currently, the materials based on post-modification of amidoxime have been developed for uranium detection and adsorption. However, the affinity of amidoxime group for vanadium is stronger than that of uranium, which is the main challenge hindering the practical application of amidoxime-based adsorbents. Herein, we synthesized a fluorescent covalent organic framework (TFPPy-BDOH) through integrating biphenyl diamine and pyrene unit into the π-conjugated framework. TFPPy-BDOH has an excellent selectivity to uranium due to the synergistic effect of nitrogen atom in the imine bond and hydroxyl groups in conjugated framework. It can achieve ultra-fast fluorescence response time (2 s) and ultra-low detection limit (8.8 nM), which may be attributed to its intrinsic regular porous channel structures and excellent hydrophilicity. More excitingly, TFPPy-BDOH can chemically reduce soluble U (VI) to insoluble U (IV), and release the binding site to adsorb additional U (VI), achieving high adsorption capacity of 982.6 ± 49.1 mg g^-1. Therefore, TFPPy-BDOH can overcome the challenges faced by current amidoxime-based adsorbents, making it as a potential adsorbent in practical applications.

Radionuclide transport in multi-scale fractured rocks: A review

Significant progress has been achieved on radionuclide transport in fractured rocks due to worldwide urgent needs for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Transport models designed with accurately constrained parameters are a fundamental prerequisite to assess the long-term safety of repositories constructed in deep formations. Focusing on geological disposal systems of HLW, this study comprehensively reviews the behavoir of radionuclides and transport processes in multi-scale fractured rocks. Three issues in transport modeling are emphasized: 1) determining parameters of radionuclide transport models in various scales from laboratory- to field-scale experiments, 2) upscaling physical and chemical parameters across scales, and 3) characterizing fracture structures for radionuclide transport simulations. A broad spectrum of contents is covered relevant to radionuclide transport, including laboratory and field scale experiments, analytical and numerical solutions, parameter upscaling, and conceptual model developments. This paper also discusses the latest progress of radionuclide migration in multi-scale fractured rocks and the most promising development trends in the future. It provides valuable insights into understanding radionuclide transport and long-term safety assessment for HLW geological repository.

Selective radionuclide co-sorption onto natural minerals in environmental and anthropogenic conditions

Anthropogenic activities can redistribute the constituents of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), posing potential hazards to populations and ecosystems. In the present study, the co-sorption of several RN from the U decay chain- ²³⁸U, ²³⁰Th, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po, onto common minerals associated with mining activities (chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite and barite) was investigated, in order to identify the various factors that control long-term NORM mobility and retentivity in environmental acid-mine drainage systems and hydrometallurgical processing. The results show selective RN co-sorption to the various natural minerals, suggesting that mineral-specific mechanisms govern the variability in NORM mobility and retentivity. Both ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Po underwent significant sorption onto the natural minerals investigated in this study. The order of co-sorption in sulfate media for chalcopyrite and bornite was ²¹⁰Po>²²⁶Ra>²⁰⁶Pb>²¹⁰Pb>²³⁸U/^230Th. Conversely, both pyrite and barite showed increased affinity for ²²⁶Ra; the order of co-sorption in sulfate media was ²²⁶Ra>²¹⁰Po>²⁰⁶Pb/²¹⁰Pb>²³⁸U/²³⁰Th for pyrite and ²²⁶Ra>²⁰⁶Pb/²¹⁰Pb>²³⁰Th/²³⁸U/²¹⁰Po for barite. Similar orders of co-sorption were observed in the nitrate media: for chalcopyrite and bornite the order was ²¹⁰Po>²²⁶Ra/²⁰⁶Pb/²¹⁰Pb/²³⁸U/²³⁰Th compared to ²²⁶Ra>²¹⁰Po/²⁰⁶Pb/²¹⁰Pb/²³⁸U/^230Th for pyrite and barite. The behavior of ²¹⁰Po was found to the anomalous: in both sulfate and nitrate solutions, ²¹⁰Po had little affinity for barite compared to the sulfides. Thermodynamic modeling indicated the formation of a reduced PoS(s) phase at the surface of sulfide minerals, leading to the suggestion that ²¹⁰Po likely undergoes reductive precipitation on the surface of sulfide minerals. The high sorption of both ²⁰⁶Pb and ²¹⁰Pb observed in the sulfate systems were likely as a result of co-precipitation as insoluble anglesite compared to nitrate where they mainly remained in solution. Overall, barite showed the highest affinity for ²²⁶Ra, given its propensity to sorb ²²⁶Ra (similar ionic size). Both ²³⁸U and ²³⁰Th were highly mobile in acidic sulfate and nitrate solutions. The results highlighted here identify the various constraints on the natural variability and fractionation of NORM in the environment, as well as the mineral-specific mechanisms that control co-sorption of RN. This information provides a framework for predicting RN transport within soils and ground waters with variable geochemical conditions and in metallurgical extraction processes, in order to develop effective strategies towards NORM mitigation.