Bruce M. Thomson

Moraine stratigraphy and morphology, radiocarbon dates from Klinaklini, Franklin, Tiedemann, Gilbert, and Bridge glaciers, and related information from elsewhere in the Coast Mountains are used to construct a chronology for glacier fluctuations. The Garibaldi phase of glacier expansion, 6000–5000 14 C years BP, at the end of the early Holocene xerothermic interval, is indicated by overridden tree stumps. The mid-Neoglacial Tiedemann advance, 3300–1900 14 C years BP, is represented by moraines, till, and meltwater sediments at three glaciers, but only Tiedemann Glacier attained its greatest Holocene extent at this time. Late Neoglacial expansion commenced before 900 14 C years BP and continued without notable interruption until glaciers achieved their maximum post-Pleistocene expansion during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Evidence for the Garibaldi and Tiedemann events is scarce within the Coast Mountains because of the more extensive late Neoglacial advance. However, correlative advances have been recognized in adjacent mountains within British Columbia, Washington, and Alaska.

Uranium (U) was successfully removed from contaminated soils from the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) site near Fernald, Ohio. The laboratory column leach process, referred to as the simulated heap leach process, using 0.5 M sodium bicarbonate as the dominant reagent, was able to achieve uranium removals of 75−90%, corresponding approximately to the percentage of uranium in the oxidized state. Parametric optimization studies are reported. The dissolution of uranium took place in two stages: a rapid desorption associated with soil surfaces and a slow step associated with diffusion of uranium toward solid surfaces. In addition, use of the oxidizing agent, sodium peroxide, improved uranium removal due to oxidation of U(IV), enhancing the solubility of the uranium. The results suggest that the process will be effective for field scale remediation of uranium-contaminated soils because of the efficiency, mild complexing agent employed, lack of prescreening of the soil and the simple equipment necessary. Two relevant companion studies have recently been completed. The first, a scale-up demonstration [Turney, W. R. J. R.; Mason, C. F. V.; Lu, N.; Duff, M. C.; Dry, D. Pilot Treatment Project for the Remediation of Uranium-Contaminated Soil at a Former Nuclear Weapons Development Site at the LANL; Waste Management '97, Tucson, 1997], using a Los Alamos site, confirms the approach to be effective up to 1 ton of soil and the second, a cost study, suggests this method is economically competitive for large soil volumes (>1000 cu yd) when combined with a radionuclide presort [Cummings, M.; Booth, S. R. Remediation of Uranium-Contaminated Soil using the Segmented Gate System and Containerized Vat Leaching Techniques: A Cost Effectiveness Study. Remediation 1996, 7, 1−14].

Intact cells of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, immobilized in polyacrylamide gel, removed Cr, Mo, Se and U from solution by enzymatic-mediated reduction reactions. Lactate or H2 served as the electron donor and the oxidized Cr(VI), Mo(VI), Se(VI) and U(VI) served as electron acceptors. Reduction of the oxidized metal species resulted in the precipitation of solid phases of the metals. Metal removal efficiencies of 86-96% were achieved for initial concentrations of 1 mM Mo, Se, and U and 0.5 mM Cr. Insoluble metal phases accumulated on both the surface and the interior of the polyacrylamide gel. In column tests conducted for U removal, effluent concentrations less than 20 micrograms L(-1) were achieved with initial concentrations of 5 mg L(-1) and 20 mg L(-1) U and residence times from 25-37 h. The enzymatic reduction of Cr, Mo, Se, and U by immobilized cells of D. desulfuricans may be a practical method for removing these metals from solution in a biological reactor.