Corrosion and Fate of Depleted Uranium Penetrators under Progressively Anaerobic Conditions in Estuarine Sediment

Handley-Sidhu, Stephanie; Worsfold, Paul J.; Boothman, Christopher; Lloyd, Jonathan R.; Alvarez, Rebeca; Livens, Francis R.; Vaughan, David J.; Keith-Roach, Miranda J.

doi:10.1021/es8021842

Cited by 18 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…17 This confirms that laboratory studies can reproduce DU penetrator corrosion rates relevant to environmental conditions. Characterization on DUCP-HP: Evidence of Studtite.…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologysupporting

confidence: 70%

Products of in Situ Corrosion of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina Soils

Wang

Gunten

Bártová

et al. 2016

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition were used in previous armed conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia/Kosovo. The majority (>90%) of DU penetrators miss their target and, if left in the environment, corrode in these postconflict zones. Thus, the best way to understand the fate of bulk DU material in the environment is to characterize the corrosion products of intact DU penetrators under field conditions for extended periods of time. However, such studies are scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, we characterized corrosion products formed from two intact DU penetrators that remained in soils in Bosnia and Herzegovina for over seven years. We used a combination of X-ray powder diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The results show that metaschoepite (UO 3 (H 2 O) 2 ) was a main component of the two DU corrosion products. Moreover, studtite ((UO 2 )O 2 (H 2 O) 2 ·2(H 2 O)) and becquerelite (Ca(UO 2 ) 6 O 4 (OH) 6 ·8(H 2 O)) were also identified in the corrosion products. Their formation through transformation of metaschoepite was a result of the geochemical conditions under which the penetrators corroded. Moreover, we propose that the transformation of metaschoepite to becquerelite or studtite in the DU corrosion products would decrease the potential for mobilization of U from corroded DU penetrators exposed to similar environments in postconflict areas.

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“…17 This confirms that laboratory studies can reproduce DU penetrator corrosion rates relevant to environmental conditions. Characterization on DUCP-HP: Evidence of Studtite.…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologysupporting

confidence: 70%

Products of in Situ Corrosion of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina Soils

Wang

Gunten

Bártová

et al. 2016

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…U domenu korozije dolazi do degradacije metala, dok u domenu pasivizacije, metal postaje obložen oksidima, hidroksidima i hidridima ili solima, dajući različite stepene zaštite od dalje korozije, a u domenu inertnosti korozija metala nije termodinamički moguća [35]. Proces korozije OU-Ti legure je nižeg intenziteta u odnosu na prirodni uran [36][37][38].…”

Section: Koroziono Ponašanje Osiromašenog Uranijumaunclassified

“…Stopa korozije OU se može izračunati pomoću jednačine (12), koja podrazumeva linearnu koroziju OU. Nedavna istraživanja su utvrdila da nesagoreli penetrator OU prati latentni, korozioni period izmedju 33 i 242 dana, u zavisnosti od geohemijskih uslova [36,37], te se preporučuje da se ovaj latentni period oduzme od ukupnog vremena čime će se dobiti tačnija stopa korozije na godišnjem nivou [16]:…”

Section: Koroziono Ponašanje Osiromašenog Uranijumaunclassified

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Ecological and corrosion behavior of depleted uranium

Stojanovic

Lacnjevac

Mihajlovic

et al. 2015

Hem Ind

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Environmental pollution with radionuclides, particularly uranium and its decay products is a serious global problem. The current scientific studies estimated that the contamination originating from TENORM, caused by nuclear and non-nuclear technologies, has significantly increased natural level of radioactivity in the last thirty years. During the last decades all the more were talking about the "new pollutant" - depleted uranium (DU), which has been used in anti-tank penetrators because of its high density, penetration and pyrophoric properties. It is estimated that during the Gulf War, the war in Bosnia and Yugoslavia and during the invasion of Iraq, 1.4 million missiles with depleted uranium was fired. During the NATO aggression against the ex Yugoslavia in 1999., 112 locations in Kosovo and Metohija, 12 locations in southern Serbia and two locations in Montenegro were bombed. On this occasion, approximately 10 tons of depleted uranium were entered into the environment, mainly on land, where the degree of contamination ranged from 200 Bq / kg to 235 000 Bq/kg, which is up to 1000 times higher than the natural level. Fourteen years ago there was very little information about the behavior of ecological systems damaged by DU penetrators fired. Today, unfortunately, we are increasingly faced with the ?invisible threat" of depleted uranium, which has a strong radioactive and hemotoxic impact on human health. Present paper provides a detailed overview of the current understanding of corrosion and corrosion behavior of DU and environmental factors that control corrosion, together with indicators of environmental impact in order to highlight areas that need further attention in developing remediation programs.

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“…Buck et al 2004;Schimmack et al 2005;Fomina et al 2008;Handley-Sidhu et al 2009). The DU particulates released from munitions impacting armour are characterised in Krupka et al (2009) and other papers in Health Physics 96 (3) resulting from the Capstone Aerosols study (Parkhurst et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of depleted uranium contamination in Colonie, NY, USA

Lloyd

Chenery

Parrish

2009

Science of The Total Environment

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Uranium oxide particulates were dispersed into the environment from a factory in Colonie (NY, USA) by prevailing winds during the 1960's and '70's. Uranium concentration and isotope ratios from bulk soil samples have been accurately measured using inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP-QMS) without the need for analyte separation chemistry. The natural range of uranium concentrations in the Colonie soils has been estimated as 0.7 -2.1 µg g -1 , with a geometric mean of 1 µg g -1 ; the contaminated soil samples comprise uranium up to 500 ± 40 µg g -1. A plot of 236 U/ 238 U against 235 U/ 238 U isotopes ratios describes a mixing line between natural uranium and depleted uranium (DU) in bulk soil samples; scatter from this line can be accounted for by heterogeneity in the DU particulate. The end-member of DU compositions aggregated in these bulk samples comprises (2.05 ± 0.06) x10 -3 235 U/ 238 U, (3.2 ± 0.1) x10 -5 236 U/ 238 U, and (7.1 ± 0.3) x10 -6 234 U/ 238 U. The analytical method is sensitive to as little as 50 ng g -1 DU mixed with the natural uranium occurring in these soils. The contamination footprint has been mapped northward from site, and at least one third of the uranium in a soil sample from the surface 5 cm, collected 5.1 km NNW of the site, is DU. The distribution of contamination within the surface soil horizon follows a trend of exponential decrease with depth, which can be approximated by a simple diffusion model. Bioturbation by earthworms can account for dispersal of contaminant from the soil surface, in the form of primary uranium oxide particulates and uranyl species that are sorbed to organic matter. Considering this distribution, the total mass of uranium contamination emitted from the factory is estimated to be c. 4.8 tonnes.

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Corrosion and Fate of Depleted Uranium Penetrators under Progressively Anaerobic Conditions in Estuarine Sediment

Cited by 18 publications

References 29 publications

Products of in Situ Corrosion of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina Soils

Products of in Situ Corrosion of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina Soils

Ecological and corrosion behavior of depleted uranium

The distribution of depleted uranium contamination in Colonie, NY, USA

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