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Radiochemistry Commons

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Environmental Chemistry

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

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Full-Text Articles in Radiochemistry

Plutonium Immobilization And Mobilization By Soil Organic Matter, Peter H. Santschi, Kathleen A. Schwehr, Chen Xu, Matthew Athon, Yi-Fang Ho, Patrick G. Hatcher, Nicole Didonato, Daniel I. Kaplan Jan 2016

Plutonium Immobilization And Mobilization By Soil Organic Matter, Peter H. Santschi, Kathleen A. Schwehr, Chen Xu, Matthew Athon, Yi-Fang Ho, Patrick G. Hatcher, Nicole Didonato, Daniel I. Kaplan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The human and environmental risks associated with Pu disposal, remediation, and nuclear accidents scenarios stems mainly from the very long half-lives of several of its isotopes. The SRS, holding one-third of the nation’s Pu inventory, has a long-term stewardship commitment to investigation of Pu behavior in the groundwater and downgradient vast wetlands. Pu is believed to be essentially immobile due to its low solubility and high particle reactivity to mineral phase or natural organic matter (NOM). For example, in sediments collected from a region of SRS, close to a wetland and a groundwater plume, 239,240Pu concentrations suggest immobilization by NOM …