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Technetium Behavior and Recovery in Soil

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/944116· OSTI ID:944116

Technetium-99 in soils is of great concern because of its long half-life and because it can not be detected readily. This work reviews the behavior of technetium in various types of soils. A method for extracting technetium from soil was developed with the use of technetium-95m and 99m to determine recoveries at each step. Technetium chemistry is very complicated and problem areas in the behavior and recovery have been highlighted. Technetium is widely used in nuclear medicine and a review of its chemistry pertaining to radiopharmaceuticals is relevant and helpful in environmental studies. The technetium behavior in the patented citric acid method for the removal of toxic metals in contaminated soils was studied. An innovative method using solid phase extraction media for the concentration of technetium extracted from soils, with water and hydrogen peroxide, was developed. This technique may have a useful environmental application for this type of remediation of technetium from contaminated soils.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE - Office Of Energy Research
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-98CH10886
OSTI ID:
944116
Report Number(s):
BNL--62958
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English