Contaminant-Organic Complexes: Their Structure and Energetics in Surface Decontamination Processes

The current debate over possible decontamination processes for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities is centered on disparate decontamination problems, but the key contaminants (uranium [U], plutonium [Pu], and neptunium [Np]) are universally important. There is no single decontamination technique or agent for all metal surfaces and contaminants with which DOE is faced. However, more innovative agents used alone or in conjunction with traditional processes can increase the potential to reclaim for future use some of these valuable resources or, at the least, decontaminate the metal surfaces to allow disposal as nonradioactive, nonhazardous material. This debate underscores several important issues: (1) regardless of the decontamination scenario, metal (Fe, U, Pu, Np) oxide film removal from the surface is central to decontamination; and (2) simultaneous oxide dissolution and sequestration of actinide contaminants against re-adsorption to a clean metal surface will influence the efficacy of a process or agent and its cost