Uranium is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal. Depleted uranium (DU) is the byproduct of the uranium enrichment process, with a majority of U as uranium-238, and a lower content of the fissile isotope uranium-235 than natural uranium. Uranium-235 is mainly used in nuclear reactors and in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Exposure is likely to have an impact on humans or the ecosystem where military operations have used DU. Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, USA has been using depleted uranium ballistics for 36 years. At a contaminated site in the Proving Grounds, soil samples were collected from the flat, open field and lower elevated trenches that typically collect summer runoff. Spatial distribution and fractionation of uranium in the fields were analyzed with total acid digestion and selective sequential dissolution with eight operationally defined solid-phase fractions. In addition to uranium, other trace elements (As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Nb, Pd, Pb, V, Zn, Zr) were also assessed. Results show that the trench area in the testing site had a higher accumulation of total U (12.4%) compared to the open-field soil with 279 mg/kg U. Among the eight solid-phase components in the open-field samples, U demonstrated stronger affinities for the amorphous iron-oxide bound, followed by the carbonate bound, and the residual fractions. However, U in the trench area had a stronger binding to the easily reducible oxide bound fraction, followed by the carbonate-bound and amorphous iron-oxide-bound fractions. Among other trace elements, Nb, As, and Zr exhibited the strongest correlations with U distribution among solid-phase components. This study indicates a significant spatial variation of U distribution in the shooting range site. Fe/Mn oxides and carbonate were the major solid-phase components for binding U in the weapon test site.

Armor-penetrating projectiles and fragments of depleted uranium (DU) have been deposited in soils at weapon-tested sites. Soil samples from these military facilities were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to determine U concentrations and transport across an arid ecosystem. Under arid conditions, both vertical transport driven by evaporation (upward) and leaching (downward) and horizontal transport of U driven by surface runoff in the summer were observed. Upward vertical transport was simulated and confirmed under laboratory-controlled conditions, to be leading to the surface due to capillary action via evaporation during alternating wetting and drying conditions. In the field, the 92.8% of U from DU penetrators and fragments remained in the top 5 cm of soil and decreased to background concentrations in less than 20 cm. In locations prone to high amounts of water runoff, U concentrations were reduced significantly after 20 m from the source due to high surface runoff. Uranium was also transported throughout the ecosystem via plant uptake and wild animal consumption between trophic levels, but with limited accumulation in edible portions in plants and animals.

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