Transport of Uranium in the Environment

Once uranium is released into the environment through natural or anthropogenic processes, it can be transported by water, air, or soil until it is either immobilized by chemical reactions and physical interactions or will remain in a mobile form for an extended period. The following section is broadly based on the works of Winde on the environmental and health effects of uranium-bearing gold mine tailings in South Africa and can serve as a demonstration of the complexity of trying to follow the environmental fate of uranium (Winde 2013). 

Hydrodynamic Hydr. conduct, tailii Porewater content Hydr. gradient to stream Water drainage at basin lining of tailings basin Grain size of tailings 

Grain size of sediments Hydr. conductivity of sediments Hydr. gradient groundw.-stream He t groundwater table 

Hydrodynamic Stream-gw interaction Porewater exdiai Flow rate stream Hydr. conduct sedim. Channel morpholep 

FIG U RE 3.2 Factors and processes governing the physical transport and chemical mobility of dissolved uranium from gold mine tailings along the aqueous pathway. (From Winde, F., Uranium pollution of water resources in mined-out and active goldfields of South Africa—A case study in the Wonderfonteinspruit catchment on extent and sources of U-pollution and associated health risks, International Mine Water Conference, Pretoria, South Africa, 2009, pp. 772-782. With permission.) 

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The processes described earlier can serve as an example of the complexity of following the environmental fate of uranium. There are many factors that affect the transport of uranium in the environment so that even an accurate analytical measurement of a given sample at best represents that sample. Thus, devising... 

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