Three metallic slag samples recovered from the site of their inadvertent creation several decades after the fact were sectioned and analyzed to determine uranium speciation to evaluate environmental behavior as well as assess proliferation resistance of the waste form. Uranium concentration in the highly inhomogeneous samples was up to 5% by weight as determined by gamma spectroscopy. Sample sections were milled in a hardened steel ball mill for x-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis (XAS). Powders were digested in a mixture of heated concentrated nitric acid and peroxide and analyzed for elemental content using ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Though elemental content of the samples varied widely, high concentrations of Al were consistently found. Other metals of significance were Ti, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Sn. High Pb concentrations were occasionally found. XAS analysis revealed the samples contained primarily uranyl and another phase identified as a uranium-aluminum melt.
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