Browsing by Author "Dore, MJ"

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    Modified bauxite refinery residues for immobilizing U(VI)
    (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, 2012-10-16) Clark, MW; Payne, TE; Harrison, JJ; Cormarmond, MJ; Dore, MJ; Collins, RN
    Bauxite refinery residues (BRR) are a waste from the production of alumina using the Bayer process, which has high pH and soluble alkalinity. However, a modified BRR (MBRR) can be made using Mg and Ca to precipitate alkalinity as acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), which lowers pH from ≈13 to ≈8.5. The combined effects of a fine-grained mineral mix providing high surface area across a range of minerals for metal removal, and an ANC (3-5 mol/kg), gives MBRR potential for many environmental remediation and wastewater-treatment applications. We conducted several laboratory experiments that investigate and assess the application potential of MBRR for the environmental remediation U(VI). Isotopic exchange data show that U(IV) is, in part, irreversibly bound and that irreversibility increases with increased surface loading; it is also age- and temperature-sensitive. Synchrotron X-ray absorption techniques (EXAFS and XANES) suggest that a limited number of minerals bind U(VI), and the mechanisms and minerals involved are U(VI) concentration dependent. Data indicate that U(VI) binding is initiated by adsorption, largely to the hematite, but precipitation dominates as U(VI) concentration increases. This in turn suggests that irreversibility in the U(VI) binding is driven by precipitate re-crystallization rather than intra-particulate diffusion into adsorbing minerals. Moreover, the results of this work suggest that MBRR may well be useful in the environmental remediation of U(VI) contaminated soils and waters.
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    Radionuclide bioaccumulation patterns in vegetation at a legacy low-level waste site
    (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, 2012-10-16) Wilsher, KL; Johansen, MP; Howitt, JA; Doran, G; Twining, JR; Child, DP; Dodson, JR; Dore, MJ; Harrison, JJ; Hotchkis, MAC; Mokhber-Shahin, L; Payne, TE; Thiruvoth, S; Wong, HKY
    This study focuses on uptake of radionuclides (RN) into trees at a legacy low level radioactive waste site (the Little Forest Burial Ground (LFBG) near Lucas Heights in southern Sydney). Tree species included: Acacia longifolia longifolia; Syncarpia glomulifera; Eucalyptus paniculate; Leptospermum polygalifolium; and Banksia serrata. Branches – (wood and foliage) were sampled, and soil cores were collected around each tree. Analytical techniques included Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry and Mass Spectrometry, alpha and gamma spectrometry, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and Cerenkov counting. Anthropogenic RN measured in trees and soils were 90Sr, 137Cs, 233U, 239+240Pu and 241Am. Median concentrations of RN in trees growing on, or near, the trenches (90Sr - 9.855 Bq/kg, 137Cs - 0.220 Bq/kg, 239+240Pu - 0.004 Bq/kg) were significantly higher than background trees (90Sr – 0.001 Bq/kg, 137Cs – n.d., 239+240Pu - 0.002 Bq/kg). Most trees had higher levels in foliage compared to wood. However; there was large variation among branches within the same tree. Uptake of radionuclides was quantified by the concentration ratio (CR), defined as average concentration in the tree to that of the surrounding soil. CR’s for trees growing around the trenches were an order of magnitude higher than for background trees, which is attributed to the trees taking up radionuclides directly from the subsurface. Our results better quantify the bio-available fraction of radionuclides in the environment at the LFBG, and reveal that site trees are bio-monitors of multiple radionuclides sourced from the sub-surface wastes.