Removal of depleted uranium from contaminated soils

Contamination of soil and water with depleted uranium (DU) has increased public health concerns due to the chemical toxicity of DU at elevated dosages. For this reason, there is great interest in developing methods for DU removal from contaminated sources. Two DU laden soils, taken from U.S. Army sites, were characterized for particle size distribution, total uranium concentration and removable uranium. Soil A was found to be a well graded sand containing a total of 3210 mg/kg DU (3.99 × 104 Bq/kg, where a Becquerel (Bq) is a unit of radiation). About 83% of the DU in the fines fraction (particle diameter <0.075 mm, total DU 7732 mg/kg (9.61 × 104 Bq/kg)) was associated with the carbonate, iron and manganese oxide and organic matter fractions of the material. Soil B was classified as a sandy silt with total DU of 1560 mg/kg (1.94 × 104 Bq/kg). The DU content in the fines fraction was 5171 mg/kg (6.43 × 104 Bq/kg). Sequential extraction of the Soil B fines fraction indicated that 64% of the DU was present either as soluble U(VI) minerals or as insoluble U(IV). Citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide were used in batch experiments to extract DU from the fines fraction of both soils. Citric acid and sodium bicarbonate were relatively successful for Soil A (50–60% DU removal), but not for Soil B (20–35% DU removal). Hydrogen peroxide was found to significantly increase DU extraction from both soils, attaining removals up to 60–80%.