High-efficiency uranium extraction from seawater by low-cost natural protein hydrogel.

Utilization of uranium resource in seawater are highly possible to meet the growth demands for the sustainable development of nuclear energy industry. Bio-adsorbents exhibit high performance in terms of adsorption selectivity, equilibrium speed, and environmental friendliness, while the high fabrication cost hinders their practical application. In this study, a low-cost soy protein isolate (SPI) is used to fabricate adsorbent named SPI hydrogel for uranium extraction. This is the first report on applying bio-adsorbents derived from low-cost natural proteins for uranium extraction. The SPI hydrogel showed high uranium adsorption capacity of 53.94 mg g-1 in simulated nuclear wastewater and 5.29 mg g-1 is achieved in natural seawater, which is higher than all currently available adsorbents based on non-modified natural biomolecules. The amino and oxygen-containing groups are identified as the functional groups for uranyl binding by providing four oxygen and two nitrogen atoms to form equatorial coordination with uranyl, which guarantees the high binding selectivity and affinity to uranyl ions. The low cost for accessing the raw material together with the environmental friendliness, high salt tolerance, high uranium adsorption ability, and high selectivity to uranium, make SPI hydrogel a promising adsorbent for uranium extraction from seawater and nuclear wastewater.

Facile synthesis of low-cost MnPO4 with hollow grape-like clusters for rapid removal uranium from wastewater.

In order to deal with the environmental resource problems caused by nuclear pollution and uranium mine wastewater, it is particularly important to develop uranium removal adsorbent materials with low cost, high efficiency and controllable rapid preparation. In this work, the hollow grape-like manganese phosphate clusters (h-MnPO4) were synthesized in 4 h by in-situ etching without template at room temperature, which can quickly and effectively remove uranium ions from wastewater. Due to the reasonable hollow structure, more effective adsorption sites are exposed. The obtained sample h-MnPO4-200 reaches adsorption equilibrium in 1 h and can remove 97.20% uranyl ions (initial concentration is 100 mg L-1). Under the condition of 25 â„ƒ and pH= 4, the maximum adsorption capacity of h-MnPO4-200 for uranium was 751.88 mg g-1. The FT-IR, XPS and XRD analysis showed that -OH and PO43- groups played a key role in the adsorption process. Thanks to the synergistic adsorption mechanism of surface complexation and dissolution-precipitation, h-MnPO4-200 maintained a high removal rate in the presence of competitive anions and cations. In a word, h-MnPO4-200 can be rapidly synthesized through a facile and low-cost method and has a great application prospect in the practical emergency treatment of uranium-containing wastewater.

On uranium 234U and 238U radionuclides in calcium and magnesium supplements and the potential effective radiation dose assessment to the consumers.

In this survey the concentrations of the radioactive nuclides uranium 234U and 238U were determined in the most popular calcium and magnesium supplements for adults in Poland. It was also investigated whether the supplements contain uranium isotopes and could be a potential source in the human diet and have an influence on the value of effective radiation doses to the consumers. The analyzed calcium and magnesium pharmaceuticals contained organic or inorganic compounds, several of natural origin as mussel's shells, fish extracts, or sedimentary rocks. As results showed, 234U and 238U concentrations in natural origin calcium and magnesium supplements were significantly higher than in other, synthetic ones. The highest 234U and 238U activity concentrations were determined in tablets from mussel's shells. The radiochemical hazard was assessed and the highest annual radiation dose was found in 234U and 238U present in supplements produced from shells or dolomite rock.

Uranium natural levels in soil, rock and water: assessment of the quality of drinking water in Singida Urban District, Tanzania.

An analytical study was carried out to determine the level of uranium in the soil and rock and associate it with the levels in surface and underground water, which are the main sources of drinking water in Singida Urban District, Tanzania. Fifteen water samples, 12 soil samples and nine rock samples were collected in Singida Urban District in February 2016. Water samples were analysed by the Government Chemist Laboratory Agency using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) (2007) and analyses for soil and rock samples were carried out through total X-ray fluorescence (XL3 ANALYSER) at Sokoine University of Agriculture in the Department of Soil and Geological Sciences. Uranium levels in the soils and rocks samples found ranged from 3.744 to 8.754 mg kg-1, SE ± 0.849 and P-value <0.001 for soil and 20.01-31.57 mg kg-1, SE ± 2.474 and P-value 0.077 for rocks respectively. The levels in soil and rock influences the levels in surface and underground water which were between 0.087 and 1.097 mg L-1 for surface water and <0.01-0.46 mg L-1 for underground water, respectively. Singida Urban District has higher uranium levels in the soil and rock with a consequence of high levels in drinking water sources.

Effects of the discharge of uranium mining effluents on the water quality of the reservoir: an integrative chemical and ecotoxicological assessment.

The water quality of the Antas reservoir, under the influence of treated effluents from a uranium mining area Ore Treatment Unit (UTM) with acid mine drainage, was investigated. Samples were collected every 3 months from the Antas reservoir (CAB, P41-E and P14) and from the UTM (P41-S). Chemical and acute 48 h toxicity tests using Ceriodaphnia silvestrii and Daphnia magna analyses were carried out to determine the potential environmental risks due to discharging the uranium mine effluents into this reservoir. All the water samples taken from the treated effluent (P41-S) were positively correlated with elevated concentrations of uranium, manganese, aluminum, zinc and fluoride and with high electrical conductivity and pH values, being considered toxic. In November 2014 water samples taken from the reservoir showed chemical concentrations above the legislation limits for fluoride (4.5 mg L-1) uranium (0.082 mg L-1), sulfate (662.4 mg L-1), manganese (1.125 mg L-1) and aluminum (1.55 mg L-1), and in July 2015 for fluoride (2.55 mg L-1), uranium (0.01 mg L-1) and manganese (0.36 mg L-1). The extremely high average value for hardness (543.55 mg L-1) possibly reduced the toxicity potential of this chemical species mixture with respect to the bioindicators. The influence of the variation in water hardness on the toxicity of the cladocerans was discussed.

Health Effects and Environmental Justice Concerns of Exposure to Uranium in Drinking Water.

We discuss the recent epidemiologic literature regarding health effects of uranium exposure in drinking water focusing on the chemical characteristics of uranium. While there is strong toxicologic evidence for renal and reproductive effects as well as DNA damage, the epidemiologic evidence for these effects in people exposed to uranium in drinking water is limited. Further, epidemiologic evidence is lacking for cardiovascular and oncogenic effects. One challenge in characterizing health effects of uranium in drinking water is the paucity of long-term cohort studies with individual level exposure assessment. Nevertheless, there are environmental justice concerns due to the substantial exposures for certain populations. For example, we present original data suggesting that individuals living in the Navajo Nation are exposed to high levels of uranium in unregulated well water used for drinking. In 10 out of 185 samples (5.4 %), concentrations of uranium exceeded standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Therefore, efforts to mitigate exposure to toxic elements in drinking water are warranted and should be prioritized.

[Assessment of radon-induced health risk for occupants of a house built on uranium ore residue]. / Évaluation des risques sanitaires induits par le radon pour les occupants d'une maison construite sur des résidus de minerais d'uranium.

BACKGROUND: At the request of French public authorities, the Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has assessed the radiological situation of a house built on uranium ore residues in Haute-Vienne and the health risks induced from exposure to radon for all occupants. Classified as a lung carcinogen by the World Health Organization, radon is a proven cause of lung cancer in case of regular inhalation over a long period, and the risk increases with cumulative exposure. METHODS: Radon exposure was reconstructed for various standard profiles of house occupancy. A risk model derived from a European epidemiological study was used to calculate the lifetime probability of death from lung cancer according to these standard profiles. RESULTS: Risk assessment of the occupants of the house highlighted the following main findings. For a resident school child having been exposed to radon from birth to the age of 7, the lifetime relative risk (LRR) was estimated at 5. For last adult and young adult residents having lived more than 10years in the house, the probability of death from lung cancer was in the same order of magnitude as that of a regular cigarette smoker, with a LRR from 10 to 13 and a lifetime probability of death from lung cancer between 3 and 4%. If these individuals smoked regularly, in addition to being exposed to radon, this probability would be between 6 and 32% (supposing an additive or multiplicative interaction). CONCLUSION: For former occupants (non-smokers) having been exposed 10years during childhood, the LRR was two-fold lower. For children having been in day care in the house, the increased probability of death from lung cancer was low, with a LRR lower than 2. Supposing, as in adults, that the risk decreases beyond 30years after the end of radon exposure, the increase was almost zero for former occupants exposed during childhood and during day care, with a LRR close to 1.

Assessment of co-contaminant effects on uranium and thorium speciation in freshwater using geochemical modelling.

Speciation modelling of uranium (as uranyl) and thorium, in four freshwaters impacted by mining activities, was used to evaluate (i) the influence of the co-contaminants present on the predicted speciation, and (ii) the influence of using nine different model/database combinations on the predictions. Generally, co-contaminants were found to have no significant effects on speciation, with the exception of Fe(III) in one system, where formation of hydrous ferric oxide and adsorption of uranyl to its surface impacted the predicted speciation. Model and database choice on the other hand clearly influenced speciation prediction. Complexes with dissolved organic matter, which could be simulated by three of the nine model/database combinations, were predicted to be important in a slightly acidic, soft water. Model prediction of uranyl and thorium speciation needs to take account of database comprehensiveness and cohesiveness, including the capability of the model and database to simulate interactions with dissolved organic matter. Measurement of speciation in natural waters is needed to provide data that may be used to assess and improve model capabilities and to better constrain the type of predictive modelling work presented here.

Characterization of exposures to workers covered under the U.S. Energy Employees Compensation Act.

Since the mid-1940s, hundreds of thousands of workers have been engaged in nuclear weapons-related activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies. In 2000, Congress promulgated the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), which provides monetary compensation and medical benefits to certain energy employees who have developed cancer. Under Part B of EEOICPA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is required to estimate radiation doses for those workers who have filed a claim, or whose survivors have filed a claim, under Part B of the Act. To date, over 39,000 dose reconstructions have been completed for workers from more than 200 facilities. These reconstructions have included assessment of both internal and external exposure at all major DOE facilities, as well as at a large number of private companies [known as Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) facilities in the Act] that engaged in contract work for the DOE and its predecessor agencies. To complete these dose reconstructions, NIOSH has captured and reviewed thousands of historical documents related to site operations and worker/workplace monitoring practices at these facilities. Using the data collected and reviewed pursuant to NIOSH's role under EEOICPA, this presentation will characterize historical internal and external exposures received by workers at DOE and AWE facilities. To the extent possible, use will be made of facility specific coworker models to highlight changes in exposure patterns over time. In addition, the effects that these exposures have on compensation rates for workers are discussed.Introduction of Characterization of Exposures to Workers (Video 1:59, http://links.lww.com/HP/A3).

A radiometric and petrographic approach to risk assessment at Alte Madonie Mounts region (Sicily, Italy).

The main goal of this work was to assess the radiological hazard at Alte Madonie Mounts region (north-central Sicily, Italy) in response to rumours of an increase in the incidence of cancer in this area. A correlation between the natural radionuclide contents and the petrographic features of the soil and rock samples was also evaluated. A total of 41 samples of selected soils and rocks were collected, powdered, dried and sealed in 'Marinelli' beakers for 20 d prior to measurement to ensure that a radioactive equilibrium between (226)Ra and (214)Bi had been reached. A gamma-ray spectrometer was used to quantify the radioactivity concentrations. To determine (238)U and (232)Th activities, the 609.3-keV line from (214)Bi in secular equilibrium with (226)Ra and the 911-keV line from (228)Ac, with which (232)Th can be assumed to be in equilibrium, were used, respectively. The gamma transition of 1461 keV was used to determine (40)K activity. The average values of the concentrations of (214)Bi, (228)Ac and (40)K were 30, 17 and 227 Bq kg(-1), respectively, whereas the greatest values were 134, 59 and 748 Bq kg(-1), respectively. A linear relationship was found between the activity values of (214)Bi, (228)Ac and (40)K. An exception was found for a group of samples in which the (214)Bi activities were much higher than expected. The chemical compositions and mineralogical features of the samples permitted the justification of these anomalies. The results of the primordial radionuclide contents are reassuring from a radiation protection point of view because the activities of the uranium and thorium series products and of the (40)K do not present a significant radiological hazard.

Uncertainty analysis of multi-rate kinetics of uranium desorption from sediments.

Multi-rate surface complexation models have been proposed to describe the kinetics of uranyl (U(VI)) surface complexation reactions (SCR) rate-limited by diffusive mass transfer to and from intragranular sorption sites in subsurface sediments. In this study, a Bayesian-based, Differential Evolution Markov Chain method was used to assess the uncertainty and to identify factors controlling the uncertainties of the multi-rate SCR model. The rate constants in the multi-rate SCR were estimated with and without assumption of a specified lognormal distribution to test the lognormal assumption typically used to minimize the number of the rate constants in the multi-rate model. U(VI) desorption under variable chemical conditions from a contaminated sediment at US Hanford 300 Area, Washington was used as an example. The results indicated that the estimated rate constants without a specified lognormal assumption approximately followed a lognormal distribution, indicating that the lognormal is an effective assumption for the rate constants in the multi-rate SCR model. However, those rate constants with their corresponding half-lives longer than the experimental durations for model characterization had larger uncertainties and could not be reliably estimated. The uncertainty analysis revealed that the time-scale of the experiments for calibrating the multi-rate SCR model, the assumption for the rate constant distribution, the geochemical conditions involved in predicting U(VI) desorption, and equilibrium U(VI) speciation reaction constants were the major factors contributing to the extrapolation uncertainties of the multi-rate SCR model. Overall, the results from this study demonstrated that the multi-rate SCR model with a lognormal distribution of its rate constants is an effective approach for describing rate-limited U(VI) desorption; however, the model contains uncertainties, especially for those smaller rate constants, that require careful consideration for predicting U(VI) sorption and desorption.

Natural radioactivity and radiological hazard assessment of soil using gamma-ray spectrometry.

Natural radioactivity in soil samples collected from different places of Bulandshahr, Hapur and Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh, India, using a low-level counting multichannel gamma-ray spectrometer system comprising an NaI(Tl) crystal. The range of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K activity concentrations varied from 29.6 to 69.2, from 34.9 to 93.8 and from 438.2 to 719.9 , respectively. The activity concentrations of (232)Th are higher than those of (238)U in all the samples. The absorbed dose rate ranges from 53.18 to 110.95 . The values of the annual effective dose indoors are found to vary from 0.26 to 0.54 , whereas outdoors are found to vary from 0.07 to 0.14 . The annual effective dose is marginally below the international recommended value of 1 for the general public. The external and internal hazard indexes of the soil samples are below the recommended limits. The values of the gamma index in soil samples varied from 0.41 to 0.88. The values of the alpha index varied from 0.15 to 0.35. All these values of and are <1.0. It is observed from the results that there is no significant radiation hazard due to natural radionuclides of the soil samples in the studied areas.

The interaction of natural background gamma radiation with depleted uranium micro-particles in the human body.

In this study, some characteristics of the photo-electrons produced when natural background gamma radiation interacts with micron-sized depleted uranium (DU) particles in the human body have been estimated using Monte Carlo simulations. In addition, an estimate has been made of the likelihood of radiological health effects occurring due to such an exposure. Upon exposure to naturally occurring background gamma radiation, DU particles in the body will produce an enhancement of the dose to the tissue in the immediate vicinity of the particles due to the photo-electric absorption of the radiation in the particle. In this study, the photo-electrons produced by a 10 µm-size particle embedded in tissue at the centre of the human torso have been investigated. The mean energies of the photo-electrons in the DU particle and in the two consecutive immediately surrounding 2 µm-wide tissue shells around the particle were found to be 38, 49 and 50 keV, respectively, with corresponding ranges of 1.3, 38 and 39 µm, respectively. The total photo-electron fluence-rates in the two consecutive 2 µm-wide tissue layers were found to be 14% and 7% of the fluence-rate in the DU particle, respectively. The estimated dose enhancement due to one 10 µm-sized DU particle in 1 cm(3) of tissue was less than 2 in 10 million of the dose received by the tissue without a particle being present. The increase in risk of death from cancer due to this effect is consequently insignificant.

Recycling of uranyl from contaminated water.

Many separation processes are related to the behavior of ions close to charged surfaces. In this work, we examine uranyl ions, which can be considered as rod-like molecular ions with a spatially distributed charge, embedded in a system of like charged surfaces. The analysis of the system is based on an approximate field theory which is accurate from the weak to the strong electrostatic coupling regimes. The numerical results show that close to the charged surface the ions are oriented parallel to the surface, whereas at distances greater than half of the ion length, they are randomly oriented. Due to the restriction of the orientational degrees of freedom, the density of ions at the charged surface decreases to zero. For large surface charge densities, the force between like charged surfaces becomes attractive, as a result of charge correlations. The theoretical results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulation results.

MCNPX alpha particle dose estimate to the skin tissue from a low-enriched uranium fuel fragment.

Three alpha volume sources (low-enriched uranium-U(3)Si) were analysed using Monte Carlo modelling in order to calculate the dose delivered to the dermis from a small embedded fuel fragment (sliver). Three shapes were analysed using MCNPX 2.6.0 code: sphere, cylinder and parallelepiped. Essentially, two kinds of runs were performed: count rate run and dosimetry run. The two results were combined to estimate dose coefficients that can be used for alpha dose assessments in the field. The two results were obtained for the 1 and 0 cm counting geometries. These results are very stable and show that the actual dose delivered to the skin per unit count rate for the recovered particle is independent of the shape of the volume alpha source.

Preliminary radiological safety assessment for decommissioning of thoria dissolver of the ²³³U pilot plant, Trombay.

The thoria dissolver, used for separation of (233)U from reactor-irradiated thorium metal and thorium oxide rods, is no longer operational. It was decided to carry out assessment of the radiological status of the dissolver cell for planning of the future decommissioning/dismantling operations. The dissolver interiors are expected to be contaminated with the dissolution remains of irradiated thorium oxide rods in addition to some of the partially dissolved thoria pellets. Hence, (220)Rn, a daughter product of (228)Th is of major radiological concern. Airborne activity of thoron daughters (212)Pb (Th-B) and (212)Bi (Th-C) was estimated by air sampling followed by high-resolution gamma spectrometry of filter papers. By measuring the full-energy peaks counts in the energy windows of (212)Pb, (212)Bi and (208)Tl, concentrations of thoron progeny in the sampled air were estimated by applying the respective intrinsic peak efficiency factors and suitable correction factors for the equilibration effects of (212)Pb and (212)Bi in the filter paper during the delay between sampling and counting. Then the thoron working level (TWL) was evaluated using the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) methodology. Finally, the potential effective dose to the workers, due to inhalation of thoron and its progeny during dismantling operations was assessed by using dose conversion factors recommended by ICRP. Analysis of filter papers showed a maximum airborne thoron progeny concentration of 30 TWLs inside the dissolver.

Assessment of surface area normalisation for interpreting distribution coefficients (K(d)) for uranium sorption.

Adsorption of radionuclides on soils and sediments is commonly quantified by distribution coefficients (K(d) values). This paper examines the relationship between K(d) values for uranium(VI) adsorption and the specific surface area (SSA) of geologic materials. We then investigate the potential applicability of normalising uranium (U) K(d) measurements using the SSA, to produce 'K(a) values' as a generic expression of the affinity of U for the surface. The data for U provide a reasonably coherent set of K(a) values on various solid phases, both with and without ligands. The K(a) representation provides a way of harmonising datasets obtained for materials having different specific surface areas, and accounting for the effects of ligands in different systems. In addition, this representation may assist in developing U sorption models for complex materials. However, a significant limitation of the K(a) concept is that sorption of radionuclides at trace levels can be dominated by interactions with specific surface sites, whose abundances are not reflected by the SSA. Therefore, calculated K(a) values should be interpreted cautiously.

A Monte Carlo analysis of possible cell dose enhancement effects by uranium microparticles in photon fields.

Uranium microparticles (radii: 50 nm-1.25 µm) were modelled surrounded by tissue and exposed to natural background radiation, in order to investigate potential dose enhancements from photon interactions. Generally, the results depended on the microparticle size. For a 0.5 µm radius microparticle in an isotropic field, it was found that the combined photon/electron doses deposited in 1 and 10 µm radii shells around it were raised by factors of ∼3.8 and ∼1.1, respectively; for a typical background photon fluence rate, these would correspond to increased energy depositions of a few 10s and a few 100s of eV y(-1), which are far less than the likely deposition rate resulting from the radioactive decay of a (238)U microparticle. The health hazard from uranium microparticle interactions with background photons was concluded to be negligible.

Uranium surroundings in borosilicate glass from neutron and x-ray diffraction and RMC modelling.

Neutron and high-energy x-ray diffraction measurements have been performed on multi-component 55SiO(2)·10B(2)O(3)·25Na(2)O·5BaO·ZrO(2) borosilicate host glass loaded with 30 wt% UO(3). Both the traditional Fourier transformation technique and the reverse Monte Carlo simulation of the experimental data have been applied to get structural information. It was established that the basic network structure consists of tetrahedral SiO(4) units and of mixed tetrahedral BO(4) and trigonal BO(3) units, similar to the corresponding host glass. Slight changes have been observed in the oxygen surroundings of the Na and Zr modifier cations; both the Na-O and Zr-O distances decrease and a more compact short-range structure has been obtained compared to the host glass. For the U-O correlations two distinct peaks were resolved at 1.84 and 2.24 Å, and for higher distances intermediate-range correlations were observed. Significant correlations have been revealed between U and the network former Si and B atoms. Uranium ions take part in the network forming, which may be the reason for the observed good glassy stability and hydrolytic properties.