2006 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Uranium in natural wetlands: a hydrogeochemical approach to reveal immobilization processes
Authors : Angelika Schöner, Martin Sauter, Georg Büchel
Published in: Uranium in the Environment
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
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In the former uranium mining area in Eastern Germany small natural wetlands were studied with respect to there removal efficiency for uranium. Within this project we investigated surface water samples, plant material, sediment cores and pore waters to understand hydrogeochemical processes in natural wetlands, which are assumed to be dominant factors for uranium accumulation. Uranium contents of the wetland substrates are enriched up to 3000 times compared to pore water values. Autoradiography and SEM/EDX studies revealed evenly dispersed uranium in the wetland soils. Uranium appears to be mainly sorbed to organic matter, as also shown by sequential extractions. There is no evidence for precipitation of uranium minerals.