Until about the 1960s Radium-226 was used as a luminescent paint above all in the watch industry. Unfortunately remnants were sometimes disposed off in the soil around former watch workshops, so that this soil is still contaminated with specific concentrations of Radium-226 exceeding legal limits (40 Bq/kg soil) by a factor of up to 500 (1000 - 20'000 Bq/kg of Ra-226). The handling of this soil is thus regulated by legislation. Since we are talking about tons of contaminated soil it is a cumbersome task to find space to dispose this soil in an adequate and legal manner. Whilst we have to deal with tons of soil the radioactive Radium-226 makes up less than 1 gram! The question now is if there is a way (chemical or physical) to effectively separate Radium from the rest of the soil? Hints are very welcome!
Dear Thomas
there is much radiochemical experience in analytical extraction of Radium from various matrices like soil. We have some experience in that as well as in treatment of NORM on a technical scale and have planned devices for the removal of Radium from metallurgical residues. To my knowldege, there is no accepted standard procedure. Nevertheless, we could get in touch to discuss a possible apporach.
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