Inorganic Contaminants and Radionuclides is a single reference covering common inorganic contaminants in detail, including their distribution in the environment, challenges linked to management, geogenic sources, anthropogenic sources, exposure and effects, international agreements and legislation relating to the contaminant, remediation options and global case studies. In addition, the book provides summaries of contaminated sites and key details about contaminants to present a more comprehensive understanding and improve remediation and management practices. The book's clear, consistent organization makes it a valuable resource for researchers, students and practitioners working in environmental science, environmental management and environmental engineering.One of the major constraints to assessing and remediating contaminated sites is the lack of awareness of the extent and severity of contaminated sites amongst the community, regulators, policymakers, industry operators, university graduates and environmental managers. This book helps to manage these constraints. - Provides a one-stop reference on the nature and properties of inorganic contaminants, including a transdisciplinary approach to managing contaminated sites - Includes global case studies covering contaminated site assessment, management and remediation - Presents in-depth research and data on specific contaminants, with a separate chapter for each contaminant

V.3 ... consists of individual chapters that describe 1) the conceptual background for radionuclides, including tritium, radon, strontium, technetium, uranium, iodine, radium, thorium, cesium, plutonium-americium and 2) data requirements to be met during site characterization.

Inorganic Pollutants in Water provides a clear understanding of inorganic pollutants and the challenges they cause in aquatic environments. The book explores the point of source, how they enter water, the effects they have, and their eventual detection and removal. Through a series of case studies, the authors explore the success of the detection and removal techniques they have developed. Users will find this to be a single platform of information on inorganic pollutants that is ideal for researchers, engineers and technologists working in the fields of environmental science, environmental engineering and chemical engineering/ sustainability. Through this text, the authors introduce new researchers to the problem of inorganic contaminants in water, while also presenting the current state-of-the-art in terms of research and technologies to tackle this problem.

This textbook addresses the increasing trend in urbanization of the world’s population and its relation with urban soils. Written by active practitioners of university level teaching and research, this book is designed primarily as an educational text, while it also provides readers with an authoritative gateway to the primary literature. It includes explicit coverage of spatial and statistical (multivariate) techniques and case studies to illustrate key concept, and to support practical guidance in issues such as data collection and analysis. The authors reflect current developments in research and urban trends. In China, for example, the proportion of the population living in cities increased from 13% in 1950 to 45% in 2010 (World Bank data). Australia is one of the world's top ten urbanised countries with population greater than ten million, with approximately 90% of its population living in cities, mainly along Australia's coast. The most rapidly urbanising populations are currently in nations of the African continent. Soils in urban areas have multiple functions which are becoming more valued by urban communities: soils supply water, nutrients and physical support for urban plant and animal communities (parks, reserves, gardens), and are becoming increasingly valued for growing food. Soils may be used for building foundations, or as building materials themselves. Urban hydrology relies on the existence of unsealed soils for aquifer protection and flood control. This volume presents the importance of urban ecosystems and the impacts of global change. It examines pedogenesis of urban soils: natural materials affected by urban phenomena, and natural processes acting on urban materials, including an examination of different climatic zones. There is a focus on soils formed on landfill, reclaimed land, dredge spoils as well as soil-related changes in urban geomorphology. There is plenty of discussion on urban soil as a source and sink as well as soil geochemistry and health. The book is intended primarily as a text for upper-level undergraduate, and postgraduate (Masters) students. It will also be invaluable as a resource for professionals such as researchers, environmental regulators, and environmental consultants.

This book focuses on the mechanistic (microscopic) understanding of radionuclide uptake by plants in contaminated soils and potential use of phytoremediation. The key features concern radionuclide toxicity in plants, how the radioactive materials are absorbed by plants, and how the plants cope with the toxic responses. The respective chapters examine soil classification, natural plant selection, speciation of actinides, kinetic modeling, and case studies on cesium uptake after radiation accidents. Radionuclide contaminants pose serious problems for biological systems, due to their chemical toxicity and radiological effects. The processes by which radionuclides can be incorporated into vegetation can either originate from activity interception by external plant surfaces (either directly from the atmosphere or from resuspended material), or through uptake of radionuclides via the root system. Subsequent transfer of toxic elements to the human food chain is a concrete danger. Therefore, the molecular mechanisms and genetic basis of transport into and within plants needs to be understood for two reasons: The effectiveness of radionuclide uptake into crop plants – so-called transfer coefficient – is a prerequisite for the calculation of dose due to the food path. On the other hand, efficient radionuclide transfer into plants can be made use of for decontamination of land – so-called phytoremediation, the direct use of living, green plants for in situ removal of pollutants from the environment or to reduce their concentrations to harmless levels.

This is Volume II in a three-volume set on the Behavior of Radionuclides in the Environment, focusing on Chernobyl. Now, so many years after the Chernobyl accident, new data is emerging and important new findings are being made. The book reviews major research achievements concerning the behavior of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides, including their air transport and resuspension, mobility and bioavailability in the soil-water environment, vertical and lateral migration in soils and sediments, soil-to-plant and soil-to-animal transfer, and water-to-aqueous biota transfer. The long-term dynamics of radionuclides in aquatic ecosystems are also discussed, in particular, the heavily contaminated cooling pond of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which is in the process of being decommissioned. Lessons learned from long-term research on the environmental behavior of radionuclides can help us understand the pathways of environmental contamination, which, in turn, will allow us to improve methods for modeling and predicting the long-term effects of pollution. This book features a wealth of original data and findings, many of which have never been published before, or were not available internationally. The contributing authors are experts from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus with more than 30 years of experience investigating Chernobyl-derived radionuclides in the environment. The content presented here can help to predict the evolution of environmental contamination following a nuclear accident, and specifically the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident.

Comprehensive Sampling and Sample Preparation is a complete treatment of the theory and methodology of sampling in all physical phases and the theory of sample preparation for all major extraction techniques. It is the perfect starting point for researchers and students to design and implement their experiments and support those experiments with quality-reviewed background information. In its four volumes, fundamentals of sampling and sample preparation are reinforced through broad and detailed sections dealing with Biological and Medical, Environmental and Forensic, and Food and Beverage applications. The contributions are organized to reflect the way in which analytical chemists approach a problem. It is intended for a broad audience of analytical chemists, both educators and practitioners of the art and can assist in the preparation of courses as well in the selection of sampling and sample preparation techniques to address the challenges at hand. Above all, it is designed to be helpful in learning more about these topics, as well as to encourage an interest in sampling and sample preparation by outlining the present practice of the technology and by indicating research opportunities. Sampling and Sample preparation is a large and well-defined field in Analytical Chemistry, relevant for many application areas such as medicine, environmental science, biochemistry, pharmacology, geology, and food science. This work covers all these aspects and will be extremely useful to researchers and students, who can use it as a starting point to design and implement their experiments and for quality-reviewed background information There are limited resources that Educators can use to effectively teach the fundamental aspects of modern sample preparation technology. Comprehensive Sampling and Sample Preparation addresses this need, but focuses on the common principles of new developments in extraction technologies rather than the differences between techniques thus facilitating a more thorough understanding Provides a complete overview of the field. Not only will help to save time, it will also help to make correct assessments and avoid costly mistakes in sampling in the process Sample and sample preparation are integral parts of the analytical process but are often less considered and sometimes even completely disregarded in the available literature. To fill this gap, leading scientists have contributed 130 chapters, organized in 4 volumes, covering all modern aspects of sampling and liquid, solid phase and membrane extractions, as well as the challenges associated with different types of matrices in relevant application areas

Bioavailability refers to the extent to which humans and ecological receptors are exposed to contaminants in soil or sediment. The concept of bioavailability has recently piqued the interest of the hazardous waste industry as an important consideration in deciding how much waste to clean up. The rationale is that if contaminants in soil and sediment are not bioavailable, then more contaminant mass can be left in place without creating additional risk. A new NRC report notes that the potential for the consideration of bioavailability to influence decision-making is greatest where certain chemical, environmental, and regulatory factors align. The current use of bioavailability in risk assessment and hazardous waste cleanup regulations is demystified, and acceptable tools and models for bioavailability assessment are discussed and ranked according to seven criteria. Finally, the intimate link between bioavailability and bioremediation is explored. The report concludes with suggestions for moving bioavailability forward in the regulatory arena for both soil and sediment cleanup.