Uranium speciation in plants

The chemical characterization of the radionuclide species is essential for a reliable assessment of the migration of radionuclides and heavy metals into the geological and biological environment on the load pathway soil - plant - animal - human. Only a few is known about the speciation of uranium in plants. Therefore we investigate the change of speciation during the transfer of uranium from initial solution into plant. Various plants (lupins, dandelion e.g.) were grown in an agricultural test field and in the laboratory on contaminated soils (up to concentration of 1g U/kg soil) and as hydroponics in the uranium containing solutions (uranium concentration: 10-5 M - 10-2 M, pH: 3 - 8). For …