Release and sorption of uranium in the system waste rock from uranium mining. Natural water

The release and migration of uranium from uranium mining waste rock piles can represent a considerable environmental hazard, as the piles are often situated, like in Germany and Czech Republic, in densely populated areas. The piles can partly serve also as a geological analogue of other nuclear waste repositories. Modelling of the release and migration of pollutants on the field scale, necessary for prediction of their environmental effects, requires understanding of interaction processes at the basic level, which can be achieved in a laboratory study. An extensive environmental study was performed in the waste rock piles region at Schlema-Alberoda (Saxony, Germany) mainly in 1990-2000 but necessary observations and data for performance assessment modelling are still missing. Therefore laboratory work was undertaken with a sample of waste rock from uranium mining to improve understanding of uranium release/uptake processes and to obtain input data for modelling of uranium migration in the rock. (orig.)