Alpha-Recoil Damage in Thorianite and Uraninite: Effect on Dissolution and Time-Scale for Spontaneous Annealing of Damage

Abstract

AbstractUsing natural ThO2 and UO2 in which radiation damage has accumulated over geologic periods, we have measured the relative in dissolution rates bicarbonate-carbonate solutions of the actinide isotopes 238U, 234U, 232Th, 230Th, and 228Th. An enhanced dissolution by a factor of 2 to 7 of the short lived (1.9 yr) 228Th relative to that of its structurally incorporated primary isotope 232Th indicates the presence of severe localized atomic displacement damage created by alpha-recoil atoms. In contrast, the relatively small (<20%) isotopic fractionation between the radiogenic 8.0 × 104 yr- 230Th isotope and 232Th, and between the radiogenic 2.5 × 105 yr- 234U isotope and its primary structurally incorporated isotope 238U, suggests the nearly complete annealing of the alpha-recoil damage during a period of less than 105 yr. An estimate of the mean fading time for the leachable damage is 15,000 yr.