Interaction of low-valent technetium with different redox (in)active minerals

Technetium (Tc) is a radioelement that has been released into the environment mainly as 99Tc due to nuclear accidents, nuclear weapon detonation, and radiodiagnostic procedures at hospitals. Tc immobilization can prevent the entry in the food chain, and it is of high importance for the long-term safety assessment of high radioactive nuclear waste. Up to date; the research has been focused on studying the immobilization of Tc considering that only Tc(VII) and Tc(IV) are relevant in the environment. However, complexes of Tc in lower oxidation states are actually important in the environment and their immobilization needs to be studied. In this experiment we will measure for the first time the immobilization of Tc(I)-carbonyl species by different redox (in) active minerals. This is a highly pioneering experiment, in which the geometry of Tc(I) on the interaction with the minerals and the oxidation state of Tc in the interaction, which will help to develop geochemical modelling of Tc(I)