Uranium

The method of carbothermic synthesis produced 260 g tablets of mixed nitrides of uranium, plutonium, americium and neptunium with a mass fraction of americium 0.61%. For the production of tablets were used uranium oxide manufactured by the water method, as well as plutonium dioxide containing impurities of uranium and americium oxides with a mass of 0.9 g americium, obtained by volumetric crystallization method in a NaCl — 2CsCl melt. Neptunium dioxide and americium oxide were added to the mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides before carbothermic synthesis. The resulting tablets had a density of 11.6-11.9 g / cm3. By methods of gamma-spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis is showed that the heat treatment of the mixture of the source chemicals - oxides of uranium, plutonium, americium, neptunium with carbon black at a temperature 1600-1500 °C for 72 h (24 h in nitrogen and 48 h in nitrogen-hydrogen atmospheres), and also the subsequent sintering synthesized by the press powders for 48 h at a temperature of 1800°C in nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere doesn't leads in average to the significant losses of americium.

A small group of Gulf War veterans possess retained fragments of depleted uranium (DU) shrapnel, the long-term health consequences of which are undetermined. We evaluated the clinical health effects of DU exposure in Gulf War veterans compared with nonexposed Gulf War veterans. History and follow-up medical examination were performed on 29 exposed veterans and 38 nonexposed veterans. Outcome measures employed were urinary uranium determinations, clinical laboratory values, and psychiatric and neurocognitive assessment. DU-exposed Gulf War veterans with retained metal shrapnel fragments are excreting elevated levels of urinary uranium 7 years after first exposure (range 0.01-30.7 microg/g creatinine vs 0.01- 0.05 microg/g creatinine in the nonexposed). The persistence of the elevated urine uranium suggests on-going mobilization from a storage depot which results in a chronic systemic exposure. Adverse effects in the kidney, a presumed target organ, are not present at this time, though other effects are observed. Neurocognitive examinations demonstrated a statistical relationship between urine uranium levels and lowered performance on computerized tests assessing performance efficiency. Elevated urinary uranium was statistically related to a high prolactin level (>1.6 ng/ml; P=0.04). More than 7 years after first exposure, DU-exposed Gulf War veterans with retained metal fragments continue to excrete elevated concentrations of urinary uranium. Effects related to this are subtle perturbations in the reproductive and central nervous systems.

ОПЫТ СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЯ ОБЪЕКТИВНОГО КОНТРОЛЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ СИСТЕМ РАДИАЦИОННОЙ ЗАЩИТЫ ПЕРСОНАЛА ПЕЧНЫХ ОТДЕЛЕНИЙ. При добыче урана методом подземного скважинного выщелачивания (ПСВ) бóльшая часть рудного тела с сопутствующей радиоактивностью остается глубоко под землей, отсутствует рудная пыль и, как правило, применяются обычные меры защиты от радиации.  На всех Казахстанских предприятиях при лидирующей роли АО «НАК «Казатомпром» созданы, поддерживаются и развиваются в полном соответствии с национальным законодательством Республики Казахстан системы управления охраной труда и промышленной безопасностью (СУОТ ПБ), программы обеспечения качества радиационной безопасности, а также политики в области ОТ, ТБ, ООС, обеспечения ядерной и радиационной безопасности. Работники проходят регулярное обследование на наличие загрязнения альфа-активными веществами, а для контроля гамма-облучения носят индивидуальные дозиметры. Осуществляется ежедневный контроль воздушного, пылевого и поверхностного загрязнения.
Компания Uranium One, представленная в Республике Казахстан своим филиалом UrAsia Energy Holdings Ltd., является одной из крупнейших в мире уранодобывающих компаний с глобально диверсифицированным портфелем международных активов в Казахстане, США и Танзании. 100% акций Uranium One принадлежат Государственной корпорации по атомной энергии «Росатом». В Казахстане Uranium One является крупнейшим партнером национального оператора АО «НАК «Казатомпром» и владеет 70% долей в СП «ЮГХК» (рудники Акдала и Южный Инкай), 50%-ной долей в СП «Каратау», 50%-ной долей в СП «Акбастау», 49,98%-ной долей в СП «Заречное» и 30%-ной долей участия в СП «Хорасан-U». В США Корпорация владеет 100% долей в руднике Willow Creek, а также имеет ряд разрабатываемых месторождений в бассейнах рек Powder River и Great Divide в штате Вайоминг.

Recently, in situ Raman setups under irradiation become available, and uranium dioxide is one of the most studied compounds. This paper reports the temperature dependence of the only Raman-active mode in fluorine UO2. Besides the interest in terms of phonon anharmonicity knowledge, this can be used to estimate the heating induced by irradiation: The frequency shift and width of the T2g peak can be used as an internal indirect probe of the local temperature in the 20–590 °C range.

Evaluation of the hydrogeochemical processes governing the heavy metal distribution and the associated health risk is important in managing and protecting the health of freshwater resources. This study mainly focused on the health impacts due to the heavy metals pollution in a known Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) contact region (Tiruchinopoly, Tamilnadu) of pen-insular India, using various pollution indices, statistical, and geochemical analyses. A total of 63 samples were collected from the hard rock aquifers and sedimentary formations during southwest monsoon and analysed for heavy metals, such as Li, Be, Al, Rb, Sr, Cs, Ba, pb, Mn, Fe, Cr, Zn, Ga, Cu, As, Ni, and Co. Ba was the dominant element that ranged from 441 to 42,638 μg/l in hard rock aquifers, whereas Zn was the major element in sedimentary formations, with concentrations that ranged from 44 to 118,281 μg/l. The concentrations of Fe, Ni, Cr, Al, Cr, and Ni fell above the permissible limit in both of the formations. However, the calculated heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI), and the degree of contamination (C d) parameters were higher in the sedimentary formation along the contact zone of the K/T boundary. Excessive health risks from consumption of contaminated groundwater were mostly confined to populations in the northern and southwestern regions of the study area. Carcinogenic risk assessment suggests that there are elevated risks of cancer due to prolonged consumption of untreated groundwater. Ba, Sr, and Zn were found to be geochemically highly mobile due to the partitioning between the rock matrix and groundwater, aided by the formation of soluble carbonato-complexes. Factor analysis indicates that the metals are mainly derived from the host rocks and anthropogenic inputs are relatively insignificant. Overall, this study indicated that groundwater in K/T contact zones is vulnerable to contamination because of the favorable geochemical factors. Long-term monitoring of such contact zones is required to avert the potential health hazards associated with consumption of the contaminated groundwater.

Following the development of nuclear science and technology, uranium contamination has been an ever increasing concern worldwide because of its potential for migration from the waste repositories and long-term contaminated environments. Physical and chemical techniques for uranium pollution are expensive and challenging. An alternative to these technologies is microbially mediated uranium bioremediation in contaminated water and soil environments due to its reduced cost and environmental friendliness. To date, four basic mechanisms of uranium bioremediation-uranium bioreduction, biosorption, biomineralization, and bioaccumulation-have been established, of which uranium bioreduction and biomineralization have been studied extensively. The objective of this review is to provide an understanding of recent developments in these two fields in relation to relevant microorganisms, mechanisms, influential factors, and obstacles.

The evaluation of groundwater quality is an imperative part of water security and plays a significant role in ensuring its sustainable development. The present paper reveals the quality of groundwater of Kanker district situated in Chhattisgarh state, India. Groundwater samples from different regions were collected to observe the seasonal variation in uranium concentration. The spatial distribution of major parameters and hydrochemical facies was described by Geographic Information System based maps, correlation coefficient, box plot, and piper diagrams. The uranium concentration ranges from 0.5 to 69.9 μg/L and 0.5–87.9 μg/L with the mean value of 4.8 μg/L and 6.8 μg/L in winter and summer season respectively. The uranium concentrations for the samples taken from one area in winter and two areas in summer have been found to be slightly higher than the permissible limit of 60 μg/L recommended by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The seasonal variation of uranium in groundwater depends upon the rainfall recharge and precipitation conditions of the geological formation and the environment. In certain regions; it is observed that the total hardness, calcium, magnesium and total alkalinity (bicarbonate) were found higher than the acceptable limit prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Mixed type behaviors of tested samples were showed by the piper diagrams. Uranium exhibits a strong correlation with magnesium (r > 0.7) in both the seasons.

Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) has become a key principle for how resource development should take place on Indigenous traditional territory. This principle, though, is subject to differing interpretation, and while it has been endorsed by the Canadian government many questions remain regarding how its implementation would depart from current Canadian Indigenous consultation practice. This research explores the meaning of FPIC, and compares it to Indigenous consultation in Canada, analyzing Canadian common law and a case study of Indigenous consultation on uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan. It argues that FPIC would require higher protections than currently provided for under Canadian law, particularly for lands under historical treaties. In the case of uranium mining in Saskatchewan it finds that while several mechanisms have developed for the engagement of Indigenous peoples in the management of the industry, several issues prevent this system from representing FPIC, most fundamentally, the lack of a regulatory mechanism that is explicitly consent-seeking.

В статье приведен обзор современного состояния минерально-сырьевой базы урана, отрабатываемого способом подземного скважинного выщелачивания. Озвучены актуальные проблемы и инновационные способы их решения. Предложены идеи геологоразведочных работ по развитию и восполнению минерально-сырьевой базы урана, а также перспективы извлечения попутных полезных компонентов. Обоснована важность, актуальность и целесообразность авторского мониторинга освоения разведанной минерально-сырьевой базы урана. Рассмотрены инновации в области подсчета запасов урана, позволяющие повысить достоверность результатов и их качество, а также ускорить их выполнение, обеспечить дополнительными сведениями, сделать более конфигурируемыми и минимизировать затраты.

The article concerns the possible destination of the complex commonly known as RIESE, located in Lower Silesia, Poland. It presents some facts as well as evidence of the validity of the thesis put forward by the author that the RIESE complex was a secret center of nuclear research of the Third Reich. This is evidenced, inter alia, by the analogies between the RIESE facilities and similar facilities existing in later periods related to nuclear projects of the USA and Russia.

ВНЕДРЕНИЕ ЛУЧШИХ МИРОВЫХ ПРАКТИК В СИСТЕМУ ПРЕДОТВРАЩЕНИЯ ЧРЕЗВЫЧАЙНЫХ ПРОИСШЕСТВИЙ И НЕСЧАСТНЫХ СЛУЧАЕВ НА УРАНОВЫХ ПРОИЗВОДСТВАХ В КОНТУРЕ URANIUM ONE/ В Казахстане Uranium One является крупнейшим партнером национального оператора АО «НАК «Казатомпром» и владеет 70% долей в СП «ЮГХК» (рудники Акдала и Южный Инкай), 50%-ной долей в СП «Каратау», 50%-ной долей в СП «Акбастау», 49,98%-ной долей в СП «Заречное» и 30%-ной долей участия в СП «Хорасан-U».Добыча осуществляется с применением наиболее экологически безопасной технологии скважинного подземного выщелачивания. Являясь сторонником экологически чистой энергетики, Uranium One поддерживает самые высокие стандарты в сфере защиты окружающей среды, обеспечения охраны жизни и здоровья сотрудников и создания благоприятных условий труда. При добыче урана методом ПСВ бóльшая часть радиоактивности рудного тела остается глубоко под землей, отсутствует рудная пыль и применяются обычные меры защиты от радиации. Работники проходят регулярное обследование на наличие загрязнения альфа-активными веществами, а для контроля гамма-облучения носят индивидуальные дозиметры. Осуществляется повседневный контроль на воздушное, пылевое и поверхностное загрязнение.
По инициативе нашей компании введен дополнительный контроль надежности и качества работы барьеров радиационной защиты персонала печных отделений рудников Южный Инкай и Буденновское. Этот метод с регулярным отбором биологических проб, которые в кодированном виде анализируются сторонней сертифицированной государственной лабораторией (в РГП Институт ядерной физики) позволяет объективно оценить действенность систем радиационной защиты и общей культуры обращения со слабо радиоактивным материалом.
Другим примером систематической работы являются изменения в системе материального поощрения высшего руководства совместных предприятий, разработанные и совместно внедряемые АО «НАК «Казатомпром» и Uranium One.

The hidden history of African uranium and what it means—for a state, an object, an industry, a workplace—to be “nuclear.”

Uranium from Africa has long been a major source of fuel for nuclear power and atomic weapons, including the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In 2003, after the infamous “yellow cake from Niger,” Africa suddenly became notorious as a source of uranium, a component of nuclear weapons. But did that admit Niger, or any of Africa's other uranium-producing countries, to the select society of nuclear states? Does uranium itself count as a nuclear thing? This book probes the question of what it means for something—a state, an object, an industry, a workplace—to be “nuclear.”

It shows that questions about being nuclear lie at the heart of today's global nuclear order and the relationships between “developing nations” (often former colonies) and “nuclear powers” (often former colonizers). The book enters African nuclear worlds, focusing on miners and the occupational hazard of radiation exposure. Could a mine be a nuclear workplace if (as in some South African mines) its radiation levels went undetected and unmeasured? This book is the first to put Africa in the nuclear world, and the nuclear world in Africa, and in so doing remakes our understanding of the nuclear age.

Heavy metal pollution of water resources can be apprehended in East Singhbhum region which is a highly mineralised zone with extensive mining of copper, uranium and other minerals. Ten groundwater samples were collected from each site and the heavy metal analysis was done by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Analysis of the results of the study reveals that the concentration of iron, manganese, zinc, lead, copper and nickel in groundwater of Bagjata mining area ranged 0.06–5.3 mg l − 1, 0.01–1.3 mg l − 1, 0.02–8.2 mg l − 1, 1.4–28.4 μg l − 1, 0.78–20.0 μg l − 1 and 1.05–20.1 μg l − 1, respectively. In case of Banduhurang mining area, the range was 0.04–2.93 mg l − 1, 0.02–1.1 mg l − 1, 0.01–4.68 mg l − 1, 1.04–33.21 μg l − 1, 1.24–18.7 μg l − 1 and 1.06–14.58 μg l − 1, respectively. The heavy metals were found to be below the drinking water standards (IS:10500 1993) except iron (0.3 mg l − 1) and manganese (0.1 mg l − 1). The hazard quotients of the heavy metals for drinking water were below 1 posing no threat due to intake of water to the people for both the areas.

Policymakers must now assume that Iran has the enriched uranium it needs to build a nuclear weapon. Containment is a failure as Iran’s breakout time is now essentially at zero. [Additional background for non-scientists is appended]. According to estimates prepared from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  reports and Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS),  Iran now has sufficient stores of highly enriched uranium (e.g., HEU or 60 percent enriched uranium ) to fashion a crude nuclear weapon. [1] As I predicted in March, Iran now has sufficient HEU, the required centrifuges, and the skill to rapidly increase enrichment of weapon-grade uranium (e.g., WGU or 90 percent enriched uranium) within a few weeks. [2] … (download to read more)

In that article I try to understand a scheme of trafficking from North Korea to China that had been organized by a then-North Korean state employee. That former state employee claimed to had smuggled several types of items and goods, including uranium ore and tungsten, to China's Far East before escaping to South Korea. For understanding that person's scheme, by help of my doctoral project's main interpreter in 2015 I personally interviewed that former participant of that illicit cross-border trade. That person's scheme had not worked without corruption, particularly by priorly paying bribes to North Korean security personnel. The article is included in the conference proceedings of the Kriminologische Gesellschaft. It is available for free. Please see pp. 304 - 312 of the 2018-published conference proceedings of the 2017-annual conference of the German Criminological Society Kriminologische Gesellschaft e.V. by using the following link: http://www.krimg.de/drupal/files/9783942865944.pdf

Extractive industries produce many kinds of waste, some of them produced through chemical transformation processes, and others
set aside during mechanical extraction activities. In France, the classification of these waste has important consequences, as some of them are considered « industrial waste », and others « mining waste », and are covered by different regulatory texts. This distinction has been even more problematic in the case of the many uranium mines scattered across metropolitan France. These mines are not longer operating, and are currently being managed by a state-owned private company that specializes in uranium extraction and transformation. This paper draws on an empirical fieldwork related to controversies about the management of former uranium mines in France and the definition of their associated waste, in which government bodies, private companies, and civil society groups are involved. These controversies relate to what counts as « waste », what it means to be « nuclear », and how these categories are sustained by regulatory and material processes. By delineating the controversial regulatory and material circulation of waste across mining sites in France, and the various problematizations of uranium residues that emerge from public confrontations between the private company and its stakeholders, we show that current debates about the former France uranium mines can be understood thought an analysis of the politics of categorization. For whom these categories matter and how they map onto various forms of exposure to uncertain radioactive risks are then pressing issues for understanding the political economy of former mining activities.

Radionuclides which present in different beach sands are sources of external exposure that contribute to the total radiation exposure of human. In this work, superficial samples of beach sand were collected from the Red Sea coastline (Ras Gharib, Hurghada, Safaga, Qusier and Marsa Alam areas) and at 20 km on Qena-Safaga road. The distribution of natural radionuclides in sand beach samples was studied by gamma spectrometry. The activity concentrations of primordial and artificial radionuclides in samples that are collected from the coastal environment of the Red Sea were 19.2 +/- 3 Bq kg(-1) for (210)Pb, 21.1 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, 22.7 +/- 2 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, 1.0 +/- 0.1 Bq kg(-1) for (235)U, 11.6 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Ra, 13.0 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Th, 12.4 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (232)Th, 930 +/- 32 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K and 1.2 +/- 0.3 Bq kg(-1) for (137)Cs. The mean external gamma-dose rate was 62.5 +/- 3.2 nSv h(-1), 54.4 +/- 2.8 nGy h(-1) Ra equivalent activity (Ra(e...

The purpose of this paper is to assess fatal cancer risk after external and internal (inhalation and ingestion) exposure from natural radionuclides in soil like (238)U, (232)Th, (40)K, and (226)Ra on the territory of Bela Crkva, Serbia. Although receiving doses are low from sources like natural radionuclides in soil, because of stochastic effects of ionizing radiation, risk for developing cancer exists and can be quantified. Concentrations of radionuclides from 80 soil samples are measured using HPGe detector. Fatal cancer risk is assessed from calculated ambient dose rate in the target organs of body due to external and internal exposure. Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain conversion factors which are required to calculate absorbed dose rate in target organs. Assessed cancer risk for (238)U in the case of both inhalation and ingestion exposure is from 1.11 × 10(-6) to 24 × 10(-6) for minimal and maximal activity in soil samples, from 1.02 × 10(-6) to 23.3 × 10(-6) for exposure to (226)Ra, from 1.89 × 10(-6) to 50.3 × 10(-6) for exposure to (232)Th, and from 0.265 × 10(-6) to 9.83 × 10(-6) for exposure to (40)K. Overall risk from (40)K as external and internal source is from 0.8 × 10(-6) to 31.9 × 10(-6). Calculated cancer risks from both inhalation and ingestion exposure could be related to all tissues that are on the way of distribution of particles within the body but especially to deposition sites in the body. Assessed risks for fatal cancer development from inhaled and ingested natural radionuclides originating in soil are not increased.

The Dokhan volcanics are represented by a thick
stratified lava flows succession of basalt, andesite, imperial
porphyry, dacite, rhyodacite, rhyolite, ignimbrites, and tuffs.
These lavas are interbanded with their pyroclastics in some
places including banded ash flow tuffs, lithic tuffs, crystal
lapilli tuffs, and agglomerates. They are typical calc–alkaline
and developed within volcanic arc environment. All rocks
show moderate enrichment of most large ion lithophile
elements relative to high field strength elements (HFSE).
The incompatible trace elements increase from basalt through
andesite to rhyolite. The felsic volcanics are characterized by
moderate total rare earth elements (REE) contents (162
to 392 ppm), less fractionated patterns {(Ce/Yb)N=(1.24 to
10.93)}, and large negative Eu anomaly {(Eu/Eu*)=(0.15 to
0.92)}. The mafic volcanics have the lowest REE contents
(61 to 192 ppm) and are relatively steep {(Ce/Yb)N=(3.2 to
8.5)}, with no negative Eu anomalies {(Eu/Eu*)=(0.88 to
1)}. The rhyolite displays larger negative Eu anomaly
(Eu/Eu*=0.28) than those of other varieties, indicating that
the plagioclase was an early major fractionating phase. The
mineralogical and chemical variations within volcanics are
consistent with their evolution by fractional crystallization
of plagioclase and clinopyroxene.