Uranium mill tailings: nuclear waste and natural laboratory for geochemical and radioecological investigations

Landa, Edward R.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.01.030

Cited by 78 publications

(51 citation statements)

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“…Similarly, Geißler (2007) has demonstrated the precipitation of intracellular U(VI) as crystals of a uranyl phosphate compound by an Arthrobacter species isolated from U mining wastes. Merroun and Selenska-Pobell (2008) have documented the precipitation of vaterite (a polymorph of calcite) by Arthrobacter; such bacterially mediated formation of carbonate minerals may have the potential to coprecipitate U and Ra at U mining and milling sites (Landa, 2004). For more details on U substitution in carbonates, see Landa (2004, section 2.4).…”

Section: Non-redox Bacterial U Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second paper (Landa, 1999) includes coverage of research carried out under the U.S. Department of Energy's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program (UMTRA). The third paper (Landa, 2004) reflects the increased focus of researchers on biotic effects in UMT environs. This paper expands the focus to U mining, milling, and remedial actions, and includes extensive coverage of the increasingly important alkaline in situ recovery and groundwater restoration.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Biogeochemical aspects of uranium mineralization, mining, milling, and remediation

Campbell¹,

Gallegos²,

Landa

2015

Applied Geochemistry

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aspects of uranium mineralization, mining, milling, and remediation" (2014 U is overwhelmingly the most abundant at greater than 99% of the total mass of U. Prior to the 1940s, U was predominantly used as a coloring agent, and U-bearing ores were mined mainly for their radium (Ra) and/or vanadium (V) content; the bulk of the U was discarded with the tailings (Finch et al., 1972). Once nuclear fission was discovered, the economic importance of U increased greatly. The mining and milling of U-bearing ores is the first step in the nuclear fuel cycle, and the contact of residual waste with natural water is a potential source of contamination of U and associated elements to the environment. Uranium is mined by three basic methods: surface (open pit), underground, and solution mining (in situ leaching or in situ recovery), depending on the deposit grade, size, location, geology and economic considerations (Abdelouas, 2006). Solid wastes at U mill tailings (UMT) sites can include both standard tailings (i.e., leached ore rock residues) and solids generated on site by waste treatment processes. The latter can include sludge or ''mud'' from neutralization of acidic mine/mill effluents, containing Fe and a range of coprecipitated constituents, or barium sulfate precipitates that selectively remove Ra (e.g., Carvalho et al., 2007). In this chapter, we review the hydrometallurgical processes by which U is extracted from ore, the biogeochemical processes that can affect the fate and transport of U and associated elements in the environment, and possible remediation strategies for site closure and aquifer restoration. This paper represents the fourth in a series of review papers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on geochemical aspects of UMT management that span more than three decades. The first paper (Landa, 1980) in this series is a primer on the nature of tailings and radionuclide mobilization from them. The second paper (Landa, 1999) includes coverage of research carried out under the U.S. Department of Energy's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program (UMTRA). The third paper (Landa, 2004) reflects the increased focus of researchers on biotic effects in UMT environs. This paper expands the focus to U mining, milling, and remedial actions, and includes extensive coverage of the increasingly important alkaline in situ recovery and groundwater restoration.Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Section: Non-redox Bacterial U Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical aspects of uranium mineralization, mining, milling, and remediation

Campbell¹,

Gallegos²,

Landa

2015

Applied Geochemistry

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“…The radiological risks associated with management of uranium mill tailings have been discussed by [76][77][78][79], among many others. Several authors have suggested that 226 Ra occurs in radium-bearing sulphate minerals in uranium mill tailings [80][81][82].…”

Section: Pb and 210 Po In Uranium Mill Tailingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a review of the mineralogical controls on radionuclide mobility in uranium mill tailings [78], the importance of amorphous silica, carbonates and phosphates, and microbial reduction processes is noted. The same publication also examines radionuclide behaviour (although not mentioning 210 Pb and 210 Po in this context) during in-situ leach (ISL) recovery operations.…”

Section: Pb and 210 Po In Uranium Mill Tailingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

210Pb and 210Po in Geological and Related Anthropogenic Materials: Implications for Their Mineralogical Distribution in Base Metal Ores

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The distributions of 210 Pb and 210 Po, short half-life products of 238 U decay, in geological and related anthropogenic materials are reviewed, with emphasis on their geochemical behaviours and likely mineral hosts. Concentrations of natural 210 Pb and 210 Po in igneous and related hydrothermal environments are governed by release from crustal reservoirs. 210 Po may undergo volatilisation, inducing disequilibrium in magmatic systems. In sedimentary environments (marine, lacustrine, deltaic and fluvial), as in soils, concentrations of 210 Pb and 210 Po are commonly derived from a combination of natural and anthropogenic sources. Enhanced concentrations of both radionuclides are reported in media from a variety of industrial operations, including uranium mill tailings, waste from phosphoric acid production, oil and gas exploitation and energy production from coals, as well as in residues from the mining and smelting of uranium-bearing copper ores. Although the mineral hosts of the two radionuclides in most solid media are readily defined as those containing parent 238 U and 226 Ra, their distributions in some hydrothermal U-bearing ores and the products of processing those ores are much less well constrained. Much of the present understanding of these radionuclides is based on indirect data rather than direct observation and potential hosts are likely to be diverse, with deportments depending on the local geochemical environment. Some predictions can nevertheless be made based on the geochemical properties of 210 Pb and 210 Po and those of the intermediate products of 238 U decay, including isotopes of Ra and Rn. Alongside all U-bearing minerals, the potential hosts of 210 Pb and 210 Po may include Pb-bearing chalcogenides such as galena, as well as a range of sulphates, carbonates, and Fe-oxides. 210 Pb and 210 Po are also likely to occur as nanoparticles adsorbed onto the surface of other minerals, such as clays, Fe-(hydr)oxides and possibly also carbonates. In rocks, unsupported 210 Pb-and/or 210 Po-bearing nanoparticles may also be present within micro-fractures in minerals and at the interfaces of mineral grains. Despite forming under very limited and special conditions, the local-scale isotopic disequilibrium they infer is highly relevant for understanding their distributions in mineralized rocks and processing products.

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“…Radiation risks include gamma radiation (principally from radium decay), windblown radioactive tailings, and radon gas (Landa, 2004;Abdelouas, 2006 Suter (1996), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006), and Sneller and others (2000). Hardness-based surface water criteria (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were calculated assuming a water hardness of 100 milligrams per liter of CaCO 3 .…”

Section: Human Health Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A deposit model for carbonatite and peralkaline intrusion-related rare earth element deposits

Verplanck¹,

Gosen²,

Seal³

et al. 2014

Scientific Investigations Report

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Uranium mill tailings: nuclear waste and natural laboratory for geochemical and radioecological investigations

Cited by 78 publications

References 86 publications

Biogeochemical aspects of uranium mineralization, mining, milling, and remediation

Biogeochemical aspects of uranium mineralization, mining, milling, and remediation

210Pb and 210Po in Geological and Related Anthropogenic Materials: Implications for Their Mineralogical Distribution in Base Metal Ores

A deposit model for carbonatite and peralkaline intrusion-related rare earth element deposits

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