Nuclear fission environmental concerns

Another potential source of energy is nuclear fission, but because of environmental concerns about the radioactive wastes from fission processes, the future of the nuclear... 

Technetium is one such constituent of radioactive waste where the need for a chemical means of detection exists, but a sensor does not. Technetium is not found in appreciable quantities in nature however, the isotope c is a byproduct of the thermal nuclear fission of U, U, and Pu at 6.1%, 4.8%, and 5.9% yields, respectively (7), and significant quantities of c exist at many DOE sites. Tc exhibits rather weak P decay (Ebuk = 0.292 keV), but it is of particular concern for two reasons its long half life (2.13 x 10 y) and the high solubility of its most common form in aqueous environmental media, pertechnetate (TcO/) (2). Pertechnetate does not readily adsorb to most minerals, and therefore in aqueous form and under suitable conditions, it may rapidly present itself to subsurface waters (3,4). 

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