Schimmack W, Gerstmann U, Schultz W, Geipel G
GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Radiation Protection, Ingolstädter Landstr 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Radiat Environ Biophys. 2007 Aug;46(3):221-7. doi: 10.1007/s00411-007-0114-3. Epub 2007 Jun 5.
Corrosion and leaching of depleted uranium (DU) was investigated for 3 years using six DU munitions (145-264 g DU) each buried in a column with a soil core of about 3.3 kg dry soil mass. The columns were installed in an air-conditioned laboratory. Each week they were irrigated and (238)U was determined in the effluents by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In addition, (235)U was measured occasionally to assure that the (238)U was predominantly from the DU munition. On average, 14.5 g corresponding to 7.9% of the initial DU mass was corroded after 3 years, indicating an increased corrosion as compared to the first year of observation. The leaching rates increased much stronger than the corrosion rates by factors of more than 100, resulting in a mean total amount of leached (238)U of 13 mg as compared to 0.03 mg after the first year. Uranium species identified in the seepage water by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy were mainly hydroxo and carbonate compounds, while those in the corroded material were phosphate compounds. It is concluded that the dramatic increase of the leaching and its large temporal variability do not allow any extrapolation for the future. However, the high (238)U concentrations observed in the seepage water highlight the need for further investigations on the transport of (238)U through soil, in particular with regard to the potential future (238)U contamination of groundwater in areas affected by DU weapons.
使用六枚贫铀弹药（145 - 264克贫铀）进行了为期3年的贫铀腐蚀和浸出研究，每枚弹药埋在一个装有约3.3千克干土质量土壤芯的柱体中。这些柱体安装在一个有空调的实验室里。每周对它们进行灌溉，并通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定流出物中的（238）U。此外，偶尔测量（235）U以确保（238）U主要来自贫铀弹药。3年后，平均有14.5克贫铀被腐蚀，相当于初始贫铀质量的7.9%，这表明与观察的第一年相比，腐蚀有所增加。浸出率的增加比腐蚀率强烈得多，增加了100多倍，导致浸出的（238）U总量平均为13毫克，而第一年为0.03毫克。通过时间分辨激光诱导荧光光谱法在渗流水中鉴定出的铀物种主要是羟基和碳酸盐化合物，而在腐蚀材料中的是磷酸盐化合物。得出的结论是，浸出的急剧增加及其较大的时间变异性不允许对未来进行任何推断。然而，在渗流水中观察到的高（238）U浓度突出了对（238）U在土壤中迁移进行进一步研究的必要性，特别是关于受贫铀武器影响地区未来地下水潜在的（238）U污染问题。
