Migration of depleted uranium from a corroded penetrator in soil vadose zone in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Autor: Li C; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China., Liang Y; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: liang.209@nwpu.edu.cn., Ye Y; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China., Chen F; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China., Astner M; Federal Office for Civil Protection, Spiez Laboratory, Physics Division, CH-3700 Spiez, Switzerland., Paterson DJ; ANSTO, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia., Chen Y; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China., Wang L; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China., Guagliardo P; University of Western Australia, Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, Perth, WA 6009, Australia., Aleshin M; University of Western Australia, Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, Perth, WA 6009, Australia., Burger M; Federal Office for Civil Protection, Spiez Laboratory, Physics Division, CH-3700 Spiez, Switzerland., Kopittke PM; The University of Queensland, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia., Wang Y; Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Ecology and Environment, Xi'an 710129, China; Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Intelligent Monitoring and Protection, Xi'an 710129, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: yuheng.wang@nwpu.edu.cn.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of hazardous materials [J Hazard Mater] 2024 Nov 05; Vol. 479, pp. 135616. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 22.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135616
Abstrakt: Depleted uranium (DU) from corroded armor penetrators can migrate through the soil vadose zone and cause environmental problems, yet studies on such migration at former theatres of war are scarce. Here, we investigated vertical DU migration in a soil profile due to a penetrator (3-8 cm beneath the soil surface) corroded over 7 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The highest concentration of DU was ∼45,300 mg/kg at 6-10 cm, with the concentration decreasing markedly with increasing depth. The majority of the DU accumulated within the top 20 cm and the DU front reached ∼42 cm beneath the penetrator. In addition, particles with varying U concentrations (3-65 wt%) were observed at 0-15 cm, with U primarily co-located with O, Si, Al, maghemite, and hematite. Particularly, metaschoepite was identified at 6-10 cm. Finally, X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis found U was hexavalent in the soil profile. These findings suggest that the downward migration of DU was likely present as a soluble form adsorbed on clay minerals and Fe oxides. Overall, we show that the rate of DU migration within the vadose zone is comparatively slow, although if the penetrator is left in the soil for decades, it could pose a serious long-term risk. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS: Over 90 % of the depleted uranium (DU) penetrators fired in previous conflicts missed their armored targets and were left in the soil to corrode. The corroded penetrators can not only contaminate soil but also pose a risk to groundwater. The present study examined the migration of DU in a soil profile that included a DU penetrator that had been corroding for over 7 years. Studying the dynamics of DU migration is essential to develop effective remediation strategies to mitigate long-term environmental risks and safeguard ecosystems and human health from DU contamination.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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