Speciation of radionuclides in the environment

摘要

The speciation of element concept was fully developed during the acid rain research in the 1970s-l980s where massive fish decline and mortality could be attributed to the presence of specific toxic aluminum species (i.e., low molecular mass positively charged Al species) in acidified water. The Al toxicity could not be derived from the total concentration of Al, and speciation analysis to identify the toxic Al-species was developed during the years. Then, it became clear that all elements could be present in different physico-chemical forms, varying in ecosystem behavior and environmental impact and that information on underlying processes and mechanisms cannot be obtained from the measurement of total concentrations.