Environmental prospects of uranium from mineral phosphates

Uranium (U) is a natural resource that is found in rock phosphates (P). Each year farmers apply unwittingly 167 t/yr U to their soils by P fertilisation. If extracted and used for electricity generation with state of the art nuclear power plants this amount of U could cover the energy demand of 2.4 x 10⁶ average German households. Otherwise this finite resource is wasted. U from P fertilisers is an uncommon contribution of agriculture to climate protection. Using the key to calculate the CO₂ depending German car tax band, 1 kilogram P would be valued with 1.8 Euro. More than that the extraction of U from rock phosphates is an efficient measure to avoid U entering the food chain. In particular translocation processes in soils of fertiliser-applied U by run-off and leaching which result in the contamination of surface waters and finally drinking water can be impeded efficiently. (orig.)