Pluri-millenial evolution of uranium speciation in lacustrine sediments

Uranium (U) is a toxic radionuclide which environmental dissemination must be limited. In this regard, understanding U immobilization mechanisms in reducing environments is essential for improving the management of radioactive waste and the remediation of contaminated sites. In particular, determining the long-term behavior of non-crystalline U(IV) species in (sub-)surface conditions is of growing importance, as these environmentally-relevant species have been recently showed to play a major role in U mobility. For this purpose, we investigated the evolution of U speciation over a pluri-millennial period in naturally U-enriched sediments from Lake Nègre (alt. 2354 m, Mercantour, France) as an analogue of contaminated systems. Several sediment cores were sampled at 24 m of water depth and preserved under anoxic conditions. Bottom sediments were dated back to 8700 cal BP. These organic- and Si-rich sediments display increasing U concentration with depth, from 350 to more than 1000 µg/g. Sequential ultrafiltration of surface waters and uranium isotopic ratios (238U/235U and (234U/238U) of sediments and waters suggest that the deposition mode of U did not vary significantly with time, thus giving the opportunity to follow the effect of diagenesis on U speciation over more than 1000 years. Uranium LIII-edge X-Ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES) analysis shows that U is rapidly reduced in the upper sediment layers and is fully reduced at depth. Preliminary Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy data at the U LIII-edge reveals that U speciation evolved with depth in the sediment core, suggesting an effect of diagenesis in anoxic conditions on U solid speciation. Our results may help to design long-term storage conditions that are able to enhance the formation of poorly soluble U species in U-contaminated soils and sediments.