In recent years, radioactive contamination in the environment by uranium (U) and its daughters has caused increasing concerns globally. This book provides recent developments and comprehensive knowledge to the researchers and academicians who are working on uranium contaminated areas worldwide. This book covers topics ranging from the beginning of the nuclear age until today, including historical views and epidemiological studies. Modelling practices and evaluation of radiological and chemical impact of uranium on man and the environment are included. Also covered are analytical methods used for the determination of uranium in geo/bio environments. Some chapters explore factors which influence uranium speciation and in consequence plant uptake/translocation. Last but not least, several chapters provide approaches and practices for remediation of uranium contaminated areas.

Uranium is an element to be found ubiquitous in rock, soil, and water. Uranium concentrations in natural ground water can be more than several hundreds μg/l without impact from mining, nuclear industry, and fertilizers. Considering the WHO recommendation for drinking water of 15 μg/l (has been as low as 2 μg/l before) due to the chemical toxicity of uranium the element uranium has become an important issue in environmental research. Besides natural enrichment of uranium in aquifers uranium mining and milling activities, further uranium processing to nuclear fuel, emissions form burning coal and oil, and the application of uranium containing phosphate fertilizers may enrich the natural uranium concentrations in soil and water by far. In October 1995 the first international conference on Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology (UMH I) was held in Freiberg being organized by the Department of Geology at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg by the support of the Saxon State Ministry of Geology and Environment. Due to the large scientific interest in the topic of uranium a second conference (UMH II) took place in Freiberg in September 1998. Furthermore, in September 2002 scientists working on the topic of uranium mining and hydrogeology attended the third conference (UMH III) which was jointly held together with the International Mine Water - sociation (IMWA) Symposium 2002. The reviewed papers and posters of the 2002 conference have been published by Springer entitled Uranium in the aquatic en- ronment (edited by Merkel, Planer-Friedrich and Wolkersdorfer).

This book explores the uranium uptake by plants and its impact on plant physiology and biochemistry. In the first part of this work, the author summarizes the chemistry of uranium, its use and its environmental distribution. Then, particular attention is given to the methods for uranium detection, and to the plant biochemical reactions that influence the uranium uptake. Readers will also discover several strategies adopted by cells to immobilize and handle uranium.

This book addresses scientists and engineers involved in the areas of uranium mining and milling sites, clean-up measures, emissions of nuclear power plants and radioactive waste disposal, as well as political decision-makers. The topics covered are: impact on groundwater from radionuclide emission, analytical speciation techniques, chemical toxicity, radioisotope plant uptake, microbiology catalyzing U(6+) to U(4+) reduction, geochemical and reactive transport, case studies on abandoned uranium mines and milling sites, long-term storage of radioactive waste, passive in situ treatment techniques and risk assessment studies.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific organization created in 1879, and is part of the U.S. government. Their scientists explore our environment and ecosystems, to determine the natural dangers we are facing. The agency has over 10,000 employees that collect, monitor, and analyze data so that they have a better understanding of our problems. The USGS is dedicated to provide reliable, investigated information to enhance and protect our quality of life. This is one of their bulletins.

A description of the site, program, and facilities is given. The data and calculations indicate that there will be no significant adverse environmental impact from the resumption of full-scale operations of the Purex and Uranium Oxide Plants. All significant pathways of radionuclides in Purex Plant effluents are evaluated. This includes submersion in the airborne effluent plumes, consumption of drinking water and foodstuffs irrigated with Columbia River water, ingestion of radioactive iodine through the cow-to-milk pathway, consumption of fish, and other less significant pathways. A summary of research and surveillance programs designed to assess the possible changes in the terresstrial and aquatic environments on or near the Hanford Reservation is presented. The nonradiological discharges to the environment of prinicpal interest are chemicals, sewage, and solid waste. These discharges will not lead to any significant adverse effects on the environment.

Accurate uranium analysis, and particularly for isotope measurements, is essential in many fields, including environmental studies, geology, hydrogeology, the nuclear industry, health physics, and homeland security. Nevertheless, only a few scientific books are dedicated to uranium in general and analytical chemistry aspects in particular. Analytical Chemistry of Uranium: Environmental, Forensic, Nuclear, and Toxicological Applications covers the fascinating advances in the field of analytical chemistry of uranium. Exploring a broad range of topics, the book focuses on the analytical aspects of industrial processes that involve uranium, its presence in the environment, health and biological implications of exposure to uranium compounds, and nuclear forensics. Topics include: Examples of procedures used to characterize uranium in environmental samples of soil, sediments, vegetation, water, and air Analytical methods used to examine the rigorous specifications of uranium and its compounds deployed in the nuclear fuel cycle Health aspects of exposure to uranium and the bioassays used for exposure assessment Up-to-date analytical techniques used in nuclear forensics for safeguards in support of non-proliferation, including single particle characterization Each chapter includes an overview of the topic and several examples to demonstrate the analytical procedures. This is followed by sample preparation, separation and purification techniques where necessary. The book supplies readers with a solid understanding of the analytical chemistry approach used today for characterizing the different facets of uranium, providing a good starting point for further investigation into this important element.