@article{242,
  keywords = {Contaminated land, Electrokinetic, Land remediation, On-site trial, Plutonium},
  author = {K. Agnew and A. Cundy and L. Hopkinson and I. Croudace and P. Warwick and P. Purdie},
  title = {Electrokinetic remediation of plutonium-contaminated nuclear site wastes: Results from a pilot-scale on-site trial},
  abstract = {This paper examines the field-scale application of a novel low-energy electrokinetic technique for the remediation of plutonium-contaminatednuclearsite soils, using soil wastes from the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston site, Berkshire, UK as a test medium. Soils and sediments with varying composition, contaminated with Pu through historical site operations, were electrokinetically treated at laboratory-scale with and without various soil pre-conditioning agents. Results from these bench-scaletrials were used to inform a larger on-siteremediationtrial, using an adapted containment pack with battery power supply. 2.4 m^3 (ca. 4 tonnes) of Pu-contaminated soil was treated for 60 days at a power consumption of 33 kW h/m^3, and then destructively sampled. Radiochemical data indicate mobilisation of Pu in the treated soil, and migration (probably as a negatively charged Pu\textendashcitrate complex) towards the anodic compartment of the treatment cell. Soil in the cathodic zone of the treatment unit was remediated to a level below free-release disposal thresholds (1.7 Bq/g, or 0.4 Bq/g above background activities). The data show the potential of this method as a low-cost, on-site tool for remediation of radioactively contaminated soils and wastes which can be operated remotely on working sites, with minimal disruption to site infrastructure or operations.},
  year = {2011},
  journal = {Journal of Hazardous Materials},
  volume = {186},
  number = {2-3},
  pages = {1405-1414},
  isbn = {0304-3894},
  url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389410015967},
  note = {doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.12.016},
}