Actinide Environmental Chemistry

TLDR: In this article, four important processes that can occur with the actinide cations are: precipitation, complexation, sorption and colloid formation, and the degree to which these four processes progress is strongly dependent on the oxidation state of actinides.

Abstract: In order to predict release and transport rates, as well as design cleanup and containment methods, it is essential to understand the chemical reactions and forms of the actinides under aqueous environmental conditions. Four important processes that can occur with the actinide cations are: precipitation, complexation, sorption and colloid formation. Precipitation of a solid phase will limit the amount of actinide in solution near the solid phase and have a retarding effect on release and transport rates. Complexation increases the amount of actinide in solution and tends to increase release and migration rates. Actinides can sorb on to mineral or rock surfaces which tends to retard migration. Actinide ions can form or become associated with colloidal sized particles which can, depending on the nature of the colloid and the solution conditions, enhance or retard migration of the actinide. The degree to which these four processes progress is strongly dependent on the oxidation state of the actinide and tends to be similar for actinides in the same oxidation state.