Uranium: Characteristics, Occurrence and Human Exposure

Alik Ya. Vasiliev (Editor)
Mikhail Sidorov (Editor)

Series: Chemistry Research and Applications, Nuclear Materials and Disaster Research
BISAC: SCI013000

Uranium has both radioactive and chemical hazards and risk assessments must address both types. Its environmental distribution depends on natural occurrence and has been influenced by human activities such as energy production, coal, and phosphate fertilizer exploration, which may impact freshwater ecosystems. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the characteristics, occurrence and human exposure to uranium. Topics include the anthropogenic sources of uranium in Serbia; uranium mining in Portugal; laser-induced nuclear decays in uranium isotopes; uranium hydrothermal deposits; and geophysical studies to evaluate geological and hydro-geological features in old uranium mines. (Imprint: Nova)

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 – Naturally Occurring Uranium in Groundwater of the North Western Sahara Aquifer System (Northern Africa) (pp. 1-47)
Authors / Editors: (Najiba Chkir, Friha Hadj Ammar, Kamel Zouari, Dep. of Geography, Fac. of Letters and Humanities, Sfax, Tunisia, and others)

Chapter 2 – Anthropogenic Sources of Uranium in Serbia: Risk Assessment on Environment and Human Health (pp. 49-86)
Authors / Editors: (Mirjana D. Stojanović, Jelena V. Milojković, Zorica R. Lopičić, Marija L.Mihajlović, Miloš B. Rajković, Gordana S. Vitorović, Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Belgrade, Serbia, and others)

Chapter 3 – Uranium Mining in Portugal: From Unmined Uranium Ores to Mining Waste Deposits (pp. 87-115)
Authors / Editors: (Maria João Batista, Cátia Prazeres, Maria Ondina Figueiredo, Jaime Leote, Daniel P. S. de Oliveira, Augusto Filipe, Teresa Pereira da Silva, LNEG – Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Unidade de Investigação Recursos Minerais e Geofísica, Alfragide, Portugal)

Chapter 4 – Laser-Induced Nuclear Decays in Uranium Isotopes (pp. 117-153)
Authors / Editors: (G.A. Shafeev, Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia)
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Chapter 5 – Uranium Occurrence and Behavior in Groundwater (The Example of North-West Russia) (pp. 155-183)
Authors / Editors: (A.I. Malov, Institute of the Ecologic Problems of the Northern Region, Ural Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Naberezhnaya Severnoi Dviny, Arkhangel, Russia)

Chapter 6 – Uranium: Natural Occurrence, Physical and Chemical Characteristics, Environmental Contamination and Human Exposure (pp. 185-209)
Authors / Editors: (Marcos Moisés Gonçalves, Marli Gerenutti, Marta Maria Duarte Carvalho Vila, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, and others)

Chapter 7 – Uranium Hydrothermal Deposits (pp. 211-244)
Authors / Editors: (Miloš René, Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)

Chapter 8 – The Legacy of Uranium Mining Activity in Cunha Baixa: A Portuguese Study Case (pp. 245-267)
Authors / Editors: (M.O. Neves, M.M. Abreu, M.J. Matias, Centro de Petrologia e Geoquímica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (TULisbon), Portugal, and others)

Chapter 9 – Geophysical Studies to Evaluate Geological and Hydrogeological Features in Old Uranium Mines (pp.269-293)
Authors / Editors: (E.C. Ramalho, J. Carvalho, S. Barbosa, F. Monteiro Santos, LNEG-Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Lisboa, Portugal)

Chapter 10 – Uranium: From Occurrence, Mining, Human Exposure to Remediation (pp. 295-304)
Authors / Editors: (O. Saïdou, Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon, and others)

Chapter 11 – Removal of Uranium from Aqueous Solution, Uranium Effluent and Seawater using Various Microbes Isolated from the Uranium Deposits (pp. 305-319)
Authors / Editors: (Takehiko Tsuruta, Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Engineering, Hachinohe Institute of Technology, Aza-Ohbiraki, Myoh, Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan)

Chapter 12 – One-Group Fission Cross Sections for Plutonium and Minor Actinides Inserted in Calculated Neutron Spectra of Fast Reactor Cooled with Lead-208 and Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (pp. 321-328)
Authors / Editors: (G.L. Khorasanov, A.I. Blokhin, State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation, Institute of Physics and Power Engineering named after A.I. Leypunsky, Obninsk, Kaluga Region, Russia)

Index