Uranium Interaction with Soil Minerals in the Presence of Co-Contaminants Case Study of Subsurface Sediments at or below the Water Table

Many uranium (U) surface-and subsurface-contaminated sites are present around the world, mainly because of its essential role in the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons and other nuclear energy and research activities (Riley et al. 1992; Todorov and Ilieva 2006). Anthropologic sources of U contamination fall into four categories: (1) U from weapon production, (2) U from nuclear energy activities, (3) U from scientic and other uses, and (4) depleted U in army testing grounds and battleelds. Elevated concentrations of U are also found in some agricultural drainage waters that are associated with phosphate fertilizers (Duff and Amrhein 1996).