Abstract
Soils have been contaminated by uranium from nuclear weapons production facilities, nuclear testing, nuclear reactor operations, improper waste storage practices and nuclear accidents. Also the mining and processing of materials containing naturally occurring radionuclides has resulted in widescale contamination of uranium among other contaminants. Adequate knowledge of the physicochemical conditions governing the radionuclide availability and speciation in the exposure medium is necessary to assess the transport of radionuclides and the impact of radioactive contamination on man and environment or to propose optimal remediation strategies. Although the geochemical behaviour of uranium has been studied extensively, the bioavailability of this metal has been insufficiently studied in the past. This paper will review some general aspects of uranium behaviour in soils, the approaches to unravel the processes ruling uranium behaviour and the major factors influencing uranium bioavailability.
Details
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | ECORAD 2004 - Scientific trends in radiological protection of the environment |
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Place of Publication | Paris, France |
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Pages | 59-83 |
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Publication status | Published - Jul 2005 |
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Event | ECORAD 2004 - Radioecology and Environmental radioactivity - IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucléaire, Aix en Provence, France Duration: 6 Sep 2004 → 10 Sep 2004 |
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Name | IRSN Series Collection Colloques, Tec & Doc, Lavoisier |
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Conference | ECORAD 2004 - Radioecology and Environmental radioactivity |
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Country/Territory | France |
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City | Aix en Provence |
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Period | 2004-09-06 → 2004-09-10 |
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