Superselective clay for radium uptake

Komarneni, S.*; Kozai, Naofumi; Paulus, W. J.*

Nature, 410(6830), P. 771, 2001/04

A radioactive legacy of the nuclear industry threatens many areas of the world with radioactive radium contamination from the solid and liquid waste left after extracting U from ores. Here we report that a synthetic clay of high charge is not only extremely selective for the uptake of Ra but also useful for Ra immobilization at room temperature. These results are of relevance for decontaminating the environmental and drinking water of Ra.