Neil Hyatt: Multimodal microfocus XAS to understand and remediate DU munitions contamination

The talk will show how multimodal microfocus X-ray spectroscopy has been applied to characterize depleted uranium particles from munitions testing to predict and understand their environmental behavior. A combination of spatially resolved XRD, XRF and XAS techniques, combined with laboratory SEM observations, is shown to effectively differentiate DU particulate contamination in near surface and burial sites, and provide evidence of particulate alteration. This knowledge was used to design and understanding more effective remediation measures for depleted uranium contamination, with multimodal characterisation supporting process optimisation.

References:
Crean et al., Environ. Sci. Tech., 2014, 48, 1467; https://doi.org/10.1021/es403938d
Crean et al., J. Haz. Mat., 2013, 263, 382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.08.013