ABSTRACT
Zirconate systems having the composition 3HfO2·15SiO2·xY2O3·(82 - x)ZrO2, where x = 2, 7 and 12â mol% Y2O3, were synthesized by a sol-gel method. The analysis of X-ray diffraction data showed the presence of the t-ZrO2, m-ZrO2, m-HfO2, Y2SiO5 and Y2Si2O7 crystalline phases in a ceramic nanomixture. Spectroscopic data show that the increase of the Y2O3 content of samples determines the increase of the t-ZrO2, m-HfO2 and silicate crystalline phases. Gap energy values decrease almost linearly with increasing Y2O3 content of samples. A detailed study of XANES data does not show a significant difference with increasing Y2O3 content of the samples suggesting an appreciable stability of the hafnium ions +4 oxidation state and their microvicinity. EXAFS results show that the local structure around the Hf cation is similar to that from the monoclinic crystalline HfO2 where the Hf-O coordination number tends to 7. The bond lengths of Hf-O shells show small deviations from â¼2.12â Å and the Hf-metal paths become more structured by increasing the Y2O3 content of the samples.
ABSTRACT
We analysed micronuclei in brown trout Salmo trutta specimens sampled in the Trubia River, upstream and downstream of the emissions from a Spanish military factory to assess genotoxicity risks derived from military wastes. A significant exponential increase in micronuclei counts was found in fish living downstream of the military wastes with respect to fishes inhabiting upstream areas of the same river. In comparison, we only found a linear increase in micronuclei counts in a control stream where an old military factory had been demolished 6 months before sampling. This difference suggests that active discharge of armament factory wastes can directly induce micronuclei and therefore represents a genotoxic risk for the ecosystem.