A readable, informative, fascinating entry on each one of the 100-odd chemical elements, arranged alphabetically from actinium to zirconium. Each entry comprises an explanation of where the element's name comes from, followed by Body element (the role it plays in living things), Element ofhistory (how and when it was discovered), Economic element (what it is used for), Environmental element (where it occurs, how much), Chemical element (facts, figures and narrative), and Element of surprise (an amazing, little-known fact about it). A wonderful 'dipping into' source for the familyreference shelf and for students.

The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements is a contemporary and definitive compilation of chemical properties of all of the actinide elements, especially of the technologically important elements uranium and plutonium, as well as the transactinide elements. In addition to the comprehensive treatment of the chemical properties of each element, ion, and compound from atomic number 89 (actinium) through to 109 (meitnerium), this multi-volume work has specialized and definitive chapters on electronic theory, optical and laser fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, organoactinide chemistry, thermodynamics, magnetic properties, the metals, coordination chemistry, separations, and trace analysis. Several chapters deal with environmental science, safe handling, and biological interactions of the actinide elements. The Editors invited teams of authors, who are active practitioners and recognized experts in their specialty, to write each chapter and have endeavoured to provide a balanced and insightful treatment of these fascinating elements at the frontier of the periodic table. Because the field has expanded with new spectroscopic techniques and environmental focus, the work encompasses five volumes, each of which groups chapters on related topics. All chapters represent the current state of research in the chemistry of these elements and related fields.

This book describes hazards from radon progeny and other alpha-emitters that humans may inhale or ingest from their environment. In their analysis, the authors summarize in one document clinical and epidemiological evidence, the results of animal studies, research on alpha-particle damage at the cellular level, metabolic pathways for internal alpha-emitters, dosimetry and microdosimetry of radionuclides deposited in specific tissues, and the chemical toxicity of some low-specific-activity alpha-emitters. Techniques for estimating the risks to humans posed by radon and other internally deposited alpha-emitters are offered, along with a discussion of formulas, models, methods, and the level of uncertainty inherent in the risk estimates.

Structural Chemistry of Inorganic Actinide Compounds is a collection of 13 reviews on structural and coordination chemistry of actinide compounds. Within the last decade, these compounds have attracted considerable attention because of their importance for radioactive waste management, catalysis, ion-exchange and absorption applications, etc. Synthetic and natural actinide compounds are also of great environmental concern as they form as a result of alteration of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste under Earth surface conditions, during burn-up of nuclear fuel in reactors, represent oxidation products of uranium miles and mine tailings, etc. The actinide compounds are also of considerable interest to material scientists due to the unique electronic properties of actinides that give rise to interesting physical properties controlled by the structural architecture of respective compounds. The book provides both general overview and review of recent developments in the field, including such emergent topics as nanomaterials and nanoparticles and their relevance to the transfer of actinides under environmental conditions.* Covers over 2,000 actinide compounds including materials, minerals and coordination polymers* Summarizes recent achievements in the field* Some chapters reveal (secret) advances made by the Soviet Union during the 'Cold war'

During his distinguished career spanning more than 50 years, Nobel laureate (Chemistry) Glenn T Seaborg published over 500 works. This volume puts together about 100 of his selected papers. The papers are divided into five categories. Category I consists of papers which detail the discovery of 10 transuranium elements and numerous heavy isotopes of special importance. Category II papers describe the discovery of a number of isotopes which became the workhorses of nuclear medicine or found other applications. Papers in Category III describe how the chemical properties of transuranium elements were originally determined, how chemistry is applied in nuclear sciences, and other chemical investigations, including early work done with the great chemist G N Lewis. Papers in Category IV cover radioactive decay chains and nuclear systematics. Lastly, papers in Category V illustrate how the powerful methods of chemistry are used to explain nuclear reactions in low, intermediate and high energy nuclear physics.

This volume is part of the series on "Chemical Thermodynamics", published under the aegis of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, and updates and expands the thermodynamic data on inorganic compounds and complexes of uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium and technetium contained in the previous volumes of the series. A review team, composed of seven internationally recognized experts, has critically reviewed during five years all the scientific literature containing chemical thermodynamic information for the above mentioned systems that has appeared since the publication of the earlier volumes. The results of this critical review carried out following the Guidelines of the OECD NEA Thermochemical Database Project have been documented in the present volume, which contains new tables of selected values for formation and reaction thermodynamical properties and an extensive bibliography.

The production of nuclear materials for the national defense was an intense, nationwide effort that began with the Manhattan Project and continued throughout the Cold War. Now many of these product materials, by-products, and precursors, such as irradiated nuclear fuels and targets, have been declared as excess by the Department of Energy (DOE). Most of this excess inventory has been, or will be, turned over to DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM), which is responsible for cleaning up the former production sites. Recognizing the scientific and technical challenges facing EM, Congress in 1995 established the EM Science Program (EMSP) to develop and fund directed, long-term research that could substantially enhance the knowledge base available for new cleanup technologies and decision making. The EMSP has previously asked the National Academies' National Research Council for advice for developing research agendas in subsurface contamination, facility deactivation and decommissioning, high-level waste, and mixed and transuranic waste. For this study the committee was tasked to provide recommendations for a research agenda to improve the scientific basis for DOE's management of its high-cost, high-volume, or high-risk excess nuclear materials and spent nuclear fuels. To address its task, the committee focused its attention on DOE's excess plutonium-239, spent nuclear fuels, cesium-137 and strontium-90 capsules, depleted uranium, and higher actinide isotopes.

This is the second volume in a series of critical reviews of the chemical thermodynamic data of those elements of particular importance in the safety assessment modeling of high-level radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities. The objective of these reviews is to provide a set of reliable thermodynamic data that can be used to describe the behaviour of these elements under conditions relevant for radioactive waste disposal systems and the geochemical environments. The present volume is a review of experimental data reported in the literature for americium. On a few occasions, where no data existed, comparisons and estimates were made based on experimental data on analog lanthanide elements. The basic philosophy was to develop a minimum set of solid phases and solution species of americium that would fit all experimental data being reviewed.