Electrochemical Plant Research Articles

Environmental monitoring of low-level radioactive waste disposal in electrochemical plant facilities in Zelenogorsk, Russia

The concentrations of radionuclides, especially anions, in water can substantially exceed local background levels in the vicinity of former and currently operating uranium enrichment plants. In this study, we present new data on environmental monitoring near the uranium sludge collector of an electrochemical plant (ECP) in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. We first tracked the complex biogeochemical processes that can affect the fate and transport of U in highly nitrate-polluted ground- and surface water. We described the main mechanisms of U immobilization: (a) biogenic and abiogenic reduction (microbial nitrate reduction caused dramatically Eh decrease), (b) sorption by organic matter in peat and by microbial biofilms on a sandy rock surface, and (c) precipitation with biogenic and abiogenic phases. The intensity of the biogenic and abiogenic factors depended on the dynamics of changes in the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP)-pH conditions as well as organic- and inorganic anion concentrations with distance from the source of pollution. Anammox bacteria were found in areas with high nitrate pollution, and we believe that they played a key role in lithotrophic nitrogen consumption and primary organic production. These data can form the basis for complex groundwater remediations close to U sludge repositories and can be implemented beyond the ECP site itself.

Uranium release from contaminated sludge materials and uptake by subsurface sediments: Experimental study and thermodynamic modeling

Uranium is a common contaminant of concern in the aquifers of nuclear waste management facilities around the world. The Electrochemical Plant (ECP) (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia) and the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex (AEСC) (Irkutsk Region, Russia) have produced enriched uranium and related nuclear wastes (sludge materials) since the 1960s. The results of the detailed sampling of groundwater and waste solutions near the storage sites of radioactive waste are presented elsewhere (Gaskova et al., 2011, Boguslavskiy et al., 2012). A number of experimental studies were conducted in the laboratory (a) to investigate the uranium-containing sludge leaching by regional groundwater and (b) to understand the ability of host sediments to retain major and minor components from drainage solutions as a function of the water/rock ratio (indicating the timescale over which the behavior is observed). The geochemical modeling code “HCh” was applied to simulate these processes and to predict the long-term environmental impact of residual uranium. The experimental and thermodynamic results indicate that U leaching from the sludge materials is less dependent on the specific solubility of the sludge sediments and more dependent on the solid uranium species in this sludge. The model simulation of uranium sorption in dynamic experiments was successful only in the case of the permanent filtration of less mineralized groundwater in fine-grained clay rocks. To more accurately describe the potential future release of U from the residual waste sites, a series of batch reactor experiments needs to be conducted.

First data on the uranium content in water of the Yenisei River basin in the area affected by the operation of Rosatom plants

This study is devoted to investigating the content of uranium isotopes in water of the Yenisei River and its tributaries within the territories affected by the operation of Rosatom plants (mining chemical combine, and electrochemical plant). Long-term monitoring of the 238U content by mass spectrometry carried out in two institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences first revealed the multiple excess of 238U over the background content in different areas of the Yenisei River basin, such as the region of the Yenisei River near the effluents of the mining and chemical combine (MCC), and the territories of the Bol’shaya Tel’ and Kan rivers. In these regions, the 238U content in water reaches 2.1–4.0 μg/l, which exceeds its content upstream from the MCC (0.3–0.6 μg/l) by almost an order of magnitude. The studies of the isotopic composition of uranium in water samples, which were carried out at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, showed the presence of a technogenic isotope of uranium 236U in the samples from the Bolshaya Tel’ River and revealed the deviation of the isotope ratio 238U/235U (167 ± 3 and 177 ± 3) from the equilibrium natural ratio (238U/235U = 138). These facts attest to the technogenic origin of part of the uranium in water of the Bol’shaya Tel’ River connected with the activity of MCC. The excess uranium content in the Kan River requires additional studies to ascertain the fraction of uranium of technogenic origin connected with the activity of the electrochemical plant (ECP) (Fig. 1, Table 4).