Phosphate Barriers for Immobilization of Uranium Plumes

Icenhower, Jonathan P. ; Burns, Peter C.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (U.S.)

关键词: Plumes;    Phosphates;    Sodium;    Uranium;    Excavation;   

DOI  :  10.2172/893107
RP-ID  :  EMSP-86740-2005
RP-ID  :  FG07-02ER63489
RP-ID  :  893107

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Uranium contamination of the subsurface remains a persistent problem plaguing remedial design at sites across the U.S. that were involved with production, handling, storage, milling, and reprocessing of uranium for both civilian and defense related purposes. Remediation efforts to date have relied upon excavation, pump-and-treat, or passive remediation barriers (PRB?s) to remove or attenuate uranium mobility. Documented cases convincingly demonstrate that excavation and pump-and-treat methods are ineffective for a number of highly contaminated sites. There is growing concern that use of conventional PRB's, such as zero-valent iron, may be a temporary solution to a problem that will persist for thousands of years. Alternatives to the standard treatment methods are therefore warranted. The core objective of our research is to demonstrate that a phosphorous amendment strategy will result in a reduction of dissolved uranium to below the proposed drinking water standard. Our hypothesis is that long-chain sodium polyphosphate compounds forestall precipitation of sparingly soluble uranyl phosphate compounds, which is paramount to preventing fouling of wells at the point of injection.