Contaminant uranium phases and leaching at the Fernald site in Ohio

Electron beam techniques were used to characterize uranium-contaminated soils at the Fernald site in Ohio. Uranium particulates had been deposited on the soil through chemical spills and from the operation of an incinerator plant on the site. The major uranium phases were identified using analytical electron microscopy (AEM) combined with electron diffraction as uranyl phosphate (meta-autunite), uranium oxide (uraninite), and uranium metaphosphate [U(PO3)(4)]. The U(PO3)(4) was found predominantly at an incinerator site at fernald. Carbonate leaching in an oxygen environment has removed some of the U(IV) phases; however, U(PO3)(4) has not been removed by any of the chemical remediation technologies tried to date. These observations suggest that an additional physical extraction procedure is needed to remove this phase. Some evidence suggests that the uranium has undergone weathering, resulting in its redistribution within the soil.