Mobilisation and speciation of depleted uranium in water and soils

Depleted uranium (DU) from penetrating ammunition was exposed to several environmental conditions in order to determine the binding forms of uranium as well as in its dissolved and solid forms.
In a first series fresh disks of DU were treated with a calcium phosphate solution. The results from time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy clearly show that metaautunite Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 x 2-6(H2O) has formed during alteration [1].
In a second experiment the corrosion and leaching of used up DU was investigated for three years in a column with a soil core. The columns were irrigated with synthetic rainwater.
The luminescence spectrum of a yellow material, which was crystallized at the soil surface was assigned clearly to be the mineral sabugalite AlH(UO2)(PO4)4 x 16(H2O).
In contrast to the luminescence spectra of the solid material the spectra of the uranium species in the dissolved samples could only obtained at temperatures below 220 K. From the shape of the spectrum and the emission maxima of the luminescence of seepage water samples it could be clearly concluded that the solution species are mostly uranyl carbonate species UO2(CO3)34- [2].