TY - JOUR
T1 - Products of in Situ Corrosion of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina Soils
AU - Wang, Yuheng
AU - Von Gunten, Konstantin
AU - Bartova, Barbora
AU - Meisser, Nicolas
AU - Astner, Markus
AU - Burger, Mario
AU - Bernier-Latmani, Rizlan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2016/11/15
Y1 - 2016/11/15
N2 - Hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition were used in previous armed conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia/Kosovo. The majority (>90%) of DU penetrators miss their target and, if left in the environment, corrode in these postconflict zones. Thus, the best way to understand the fate of bulk DU material in the environment is to characterize the corrosion products of intact DU penetrators under field conditions for extended periods of time. However, such studies are scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, we characterized corrosion products formed from two intact DU penetrators that remained in soils in Bosnia and Herzegovina for over seven years. We used a combination of X-ray powder diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The results show that metaschoepite (UO3(H2O)2) was a main component of the two DU corrosion products. Moreover, studtite ((UO2)O2(H2O)2.2(H2O)) and becquerelite (Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6.8(H2O)) were also identified in the corrosion products. Their formation through transformation of metaschoepite was a result of the geochemical conditions under which the penetrators corroded. Moreover, we propose that the transformation of metaschoepite to becquerelite or studtite in the DU corrosion products would decrease the potential for mobilization of U from corroded DU penetrators exposed to similar environments in postconflict areas.
AB - Hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition were used in previous armed conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia/Kosovo. The majority (>90%) of DU penetrators miss their target and, if left in the environment, corrode in these postconflict zones. Thus, the best way to understand the fate of bulk DU material in the environment is to characterize the corrosion products of intact DU penetrators under field conditions for extended periods of time. However, such studies are scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, we characterized corrosion products formed from two intact DU penetrators that remained in soils in Bosnia and Herzegovina for over seven years. We used a combination of X-ray powder diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The results show that metaschoepite (UO3(H2O)2) was a main component of the two DU corrosion products. Moreover, studtite ((UO2)O2(H2O)2.2(H2O)) and becquerelite (Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6.8(H2O)) were also identified in the corrosion products. Their formation through transformation of metaschoepite was a result of the geochemical conditions under which the penetrators corroded. Moreover, we propose that the transformation of metaschoepite to becquerelite or studtite in the DU corrosion products would decrease the potential for mobilization of U from corroded DU penetrators exposed to similar environments in postconflict areas.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021853164&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.6b03732
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.6b03732
M3 - 文章
C2 - 27768274
AN - SCOPUS:85021853164
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 50
SP - 12266
EP - 12274
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 22
ER -
