Geochemistry of soil radionuclides / Геохимия радионуклидов почв

Recurring concerns about the environmental fate and potential health impacts of radionuclides such as 137CS, 90Sr, and 99Tc continue to focus interest on understanding the mechanisms controlling radionuclide transport in soils. At the same time, the difficulty and complexity of cleaning up radionuclide-contaminated soils highlights our inability to predict radionuclide transport in near surface environments. Nevertheless, new theories and novel analytical techniques are increasingly able to provide a picture of radiochemical reactivity in situ in soils at the molecular level. There is therefore the possibility that an atomic level view of contaminant binding to soils can provide a knowledge-based framework for choosing remedial targets, achieving cleanup, and protecting public health. Interest in such subjects led to a symposium entitled "Soil Geochemical Processes ofRadionuclides" that was held at the 1999 Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting at Salt Lake City, UT. <...>