Technetium concentration, decreases

FIGURE 7. Decrease in technetium concentration as a function of time for solutions in contact with iron metal and iron minerals under (a) oxic and (b) anoxic conditions. 

Calixarene crown-6 compounds, which are neutral extractants like crown ethers, are able to coextract technetium with cesium. Tests carried out with several calix-arene-crown ethers (MC7, MC8, MC14, BC2, BC5, BC8, and BC10) show that the extraction of technetium, present in the aqueous phase at a concentration 10 5 M, is enhanced as the cesium concentration in the aqueous phase increases from 10 5 to 10-2 M. As expected, an increase of nitrate concentration prevents pertechnetate extraction in competition with nitrate anion. The extraction of technetium is only appreciable when the nitric acid does not exceed 1 M. Distribution ratios DCs (close to 8) are comparable for the various calixarenes. However, a decrease of extraction is observed for naphtho derivatives.88 89... 

To estimate the environmental impact caused by nuclear fuel cycle of the SVBR-75/100, the value of specific radiotoxicity of the produced transuranic elements (neptunium, plutonium, americium and curium) and long-lived fission products (technetium-99, iodine-129 and caesium-135) was taken as a criterion, as a function of the electric energy produced. When this value decreases with energy production, the environmental impact of the nuclear fuel cycle can be considered friendly . The radiotoxicity characteristic adopted was the volume of water necessary to dilute some quantity of radionuclides to the concentrations for which the specific radioactivity of the solution meets the sanitary requirements for drinking water. 

In recent years, technetium-99 concentrations in seafood have decreased to low levels... 

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