Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments
Uranium mill tailings (UMT) present a significant environmental concern due to high levels of radioactive and toxic elements, including uranium (U), thorium (Th), and lead (Pb), which can pose serious health risks to aquatic ecosystems. While Pb isotopic tracers have been widely utilized in environm...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180202 |
| _version_ | 1811685318814859264 |
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| author | Wang, Jin Hu, Haiyao Lin, Ke Wei, Xudong Beiyuan, Jingzi Xiong, Xinni Wan, Yuebing Deng, Pengyuan Wu, Hanyu Kang, Mingliang Liu, Juan Dong, Xuhui |
| author2 | Asian School of the Environment |
| author_facet | Asian School of the Environment Wang, Jin Hu, Haiyao Lin, Ke Wei, Xudong Beiyuan, Jingzi Xiong, Xinni Wan, Yuebing Deng, Pengyuan Wu, Hanyu Kang, Mingliang Liu, Juan Dong, Xuhui |
| author_sort | Wang, Jin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Uranium mill tailings (UMT) present a significant environmental concern due to high levels of radioactive and toxic elements, including uranium (U), thorium (Th), and lead (Pb), which can pose serious health risks to aquatic ecosystems. While Pb isotopic tracers have been widely utilized in environmental studies to identify elemental sources and geological processes, their application in U geochemistry remains relatively limited. In this study, we investigate the distribution and migration of U in stream-river sediments surrounding a decommissioned U hydrometallurgical area, employing Pb isotopes as tracers. Our findings reveal significant enrichment and ecological risk of U, Pb, and Th in the sediments. Uranium predominantly associates with quartz and silicate minerals, and its dispersion process is influenced by continuous leaching and precipitation cycles of typical U-bearing minerals. Furthermore, we establish a compelling positive relationship (r2 = 0.97) between 208Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/207Pb in the stream-river sediments and sediment derived from UMT. Application of a binary Pb mixing model indicates that anthropogenic hydrometallurgical activities contribute to 2.5-62.7% of the stream-river sediments. Notably, these values are lower than the 6.6-89.6% recorded about 10 years ago, prior to the decommissioning of the U hydrometallurgical activity. Our results underscore the continued risk of U pollution dispersion even after decommission, highlighting the long-term environmental impact of UMT. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:42:37Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/180202 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:42:37Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1802022024-09-24T01:08:58Z Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments Wang, Jin Hu, Haiyao Lin, Ke Wei, Xudong Beiyuan, Jingzi Xiong, Xinni Wan, Yuebing Deng, Pengyuan Wu, Hanyu Kang, Mingliang Liu, Juan Dong, Xuhui Asian School of the Environment Earth Observatory of Singapore Earth and Environmental Sciences Lead isotopes Source apportion Uranium mill tailings (UMT) present a significant environmental concern due to high levels of radioactive and toxic elements, including uranium (U), thorium (Th), and lead (Pb), which can pose serious health risks to aquatic ecosystems. While Pb isotopic tracers have been widely utilized in environmental studies to identify elemental sources and geological processes, their application in U geochemistry remains relatively limited. In this study, we investigate the distribution and migration of U in stream-river sediments surrounding a decommissioned U hydrometallurgical area, employing Pb isotopes as tracers. Our findings reveal significant enrichment and ecological risk of U, Pb, and Th in the sediments. Uranium predominantly associates with quartz and silicate minerals, and its dispersion process is influenced by continuous leaching and precipitation cycles of typical U-bearing minerals. Furthermore, we establish a compelling positive relationship (r2 = 0.97) between 208Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/207Pb in the stream-river sediments and sediment derived from UMT. Application of a binary Pb mixing model indicates that anthropogenic hydrometallurgical activities contribute to 2.5-62.7% of the stream-river sediments. Notably, these values are lower than the 6.6-89.6% recorded about 10 years ago, prior to the decommissioning of the U hydrometallurgical activity. Our results underscore the continued risk of U pollution dispersion even after decommission, highlighting the long-term environmental impact of UMT. The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41773011, 42171149), Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2023A1515012381, 2021B1515020078), the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China (2024A03J0458) and Earth Critical Zone and Eco-geochemistry (PT252022024). 2024-09-24T01:08:58Z 2024-09-24T01:08:58Z 2024 Journal Article Wang, J., Hu, H., Lin, K., Wei, X., Beiyuan, J., Xiong, X., Wan, Y., Deng, P., Wu, H., Kang, M., Liu, J. & Dong, X. (2024). Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 472, 134417-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134417 0304-3894 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180202 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134417 38691992 2-s2.0-85191660062 472 134417 en Journal of Hazardous Materials © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Earth and Environmental Sciences Lead isotopes Source apportion Wang, Jin Hu, Haiyao Lin, Ke Wei, Xudong Beiyuan, Jingzi Xiong, Xinni Wan, Yuebing Deng, Pengyuan Wu, Hanyu Kang, Mingliang Liu, Juan Dong, Xuhui Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title | Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title_full | Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title_fullStr | Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title_short | Pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution: new insight on uranium transport in stream-river sediments |
| title_sort | pb isotopic fingerprinting of uranium pollution new insight on uranium transport in stream river sediments |
| topic | Earth and Environmental Sciences Lead isotopes Source apportion |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180202 |
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