F) Contaminated sites

1. Tracing of U isotope ratios and speciation in samples from the area of past uranium mine Žirovski Vrh

The purpose of the work will be in investigation of potential use of U isotope ratios and speciation for tracing the sources and contribution of uranium leached from waste heaps and mine from past uranium mine Žirovski Vrh in for tracing their influence in the environment. The student will perform sampling of water samples from the study area, apply and adapt existing methodology for determination of U isotope ratios by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This will be coupled with speciation information and further on used to try to identify specific fingerprint of uranium from processed mining wastes to be able to trace them in environment.

Mentors: dr. Marko Štrok (marko.strok@ijs.si), Leja Rovan (leja.rovan@ijs.si)