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Uranium in the environment is a global health concern, and comes from both natural and man-made sources. Beyond naturally occurring uranium, mining, phosphates in agriculture , weapons manufacturing, and nuclear power are anthropogenic sources of uranium in the environment.
The second method uses a survey of deep-rooted plants in an area of interest. This works because the plant roots carry uranium to the surface, where it is concentrated in growing areas of the plant. Juniper or saltbrush are usually used, as they are known uranium concentrators. Samples of tree branch tips and leaves are taken from each area in ...
Natural uranium (NU or U nat [1]) is uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.711% uranium-235 , 99.284% uranium-238 , and a trace of uranium-234 by weight (0.0055%). Approximately 2.2% of its radioactivity comes from uranium-235, 48.6% from uranium-238, and 49.2% from uranium-234.
Plants absorb some uranium from soil. Dry weight concentrations of uranium in plants range from 5 to 60 parts per billion, and ash from burnt wood can have concentrations up to 4 parts per million. [30] Dry weight concentrations of uranium in food plants are typically lower with one to two micrograms per day ingested through the food people eat ...
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the environment, such as uranium, thorium and potassium and any of their decay products, such as radium and radon. [1]
One dramatic source of man-made radioactivity is a nuclear weapons test. The glassy trinitite created by the first atom bomb contains radioisotopes formed by neutron activation and nuclear fission. In addition some natural radioisotopes are present. A recent paper [7] reports the levels of long-lived radioisotopes in the trinitite.
The U.S. has been preparing since 2022 for the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin would stop selling it nuclear power fuel, and a pending ban on Russian imports will help boost ...
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235 U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation.Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 U with 99.2732–99.2752% natural abundance), uranium-235 (235 U, 0.7198–0.7210%), and uranium-234 (234 U, 0.0049–0.0059%).