Uranium Content in Air and Other Environmental Samples

FIGURE 3.16 Recovery of uranium from U/TEVA chromatographic resin using HjO (O), 0.01 M (NH4)2C204 (V), and 0.1 M (NH4)2C204 ( ). (From Lariviere, D. et al., Anal. Methods, 2, 259, 2010. With permission.) 

A special case was concerned with measurement of uranium aerosols generated when DU munitions penetrate armored vehicles (Parkhurst 2003). In this study, DU penetrators were fired at a tank and another armored vehicle and the aerosols were collected by different means (filter cassettes, cascade impactors, five-stage cyclone, and a moving filter). Wipe samples were also collected from surfaces and deposition trays. Analysis included particle size distribution, morphology, uranium oxide phases, and dissolution in vitro. The uranium mass was determined by different methods radioanalytical beta spectrometry for some filters and ICPMS, ICP-AES, and KPA for other samples. 

There are other enviromnental samples in which the uranium content, and especially its isotopic composition in enviromnental samples, is a useful indicator of different phenomena. For example, the uranium content and U/ U isotope ratio in shallow carbonate sediments can serve as paleoredox proxy (Romaniello et al. 2013). 

Bioaccumulation of uranium in marine birds was studied (Borylo et al. 2010). Dead bodies of three species of birds (sea birds, wintering birds, and migratory birds) were collected and dissected. A tracer was added to the biological samples that were mineralized, the uranium was separated on an anion exchange resin, and electrodeposited on stainless steel disks for alpha spectrometry. The distribution of the uranium content and the activity ratio among the different organs 

Some studies that can be included in the environmental context are concerned with the transfer of heavy metals, including uranium, through the food chain to human diet. For example, the assessment of uranium and other metals in bovine meat and organs was carried out in South Africa (Ambushe et al. 2012). Muscle, liver, kidney, fat, and bone samples were coUected at an abattoir near a mining area. The samples were cut into small pieces and freeze-dried for 24 h, then homogenized in a blender and powdered. The samples were digested with nitric acid in a microwave oven at a maximum pressure of 350 psi and tanperature of 210 C. Then diluted with water and internal standards of Ga, In, H, and Th were added prior to 

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