Actinide chemistry: from weapons to remediation to stewardship

Abstract

SummaryAn integral part of the international conferences on the Chemistry and Migration of Actinides has been the separation science of these elements. Separations involving actinide elements began with the discovery of radioactivity when Crookes reported that addition of carbonate ions to a solution of uranium caused formation of a soluble uranium carbonate complex and of a precipitate which contained most of theβ,γradioactivity. Subsequently, the Curies separated components of pitchblend to isolate the different radioactive elements which led, in 1898, to the discovery of the new element, polonium. The separation method used by these pioneers was precipitation which remained the dominant separation technique for the first 40 years of actinide research. This paper reviews actinide separation science to the present time.