Annual Report 2010 - Institute of Radiochemistry

At the beginning of 2011, the former Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) was fully integrated into the Helmholtz Association, as Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Therefore, the present Annual Report 2010 of the Institute of Radiochemistry (IRC) is published as the first HZDR-Report. The Institute of Radiochemistry is one of the six Research Institutes of this centre. IRC contributes to the research program “Nuclear Safety Research” in the “Research Field of Energy” and performs basic and applied research in radiochemistry and radioecology. Motivation and background of our research are environmental processes relevant for the installation of nuclear waste repositories, for remediation of uranium mining and milling sites, and for radioactive contaminations caused by nuclear accidents and fallout. Because of their high radiotoxicity and long half-life the actinides are of special interest

2nd International Workshop on Advanced Techniques for Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS 2014) Abstract Book

In 2012, The Institute of Resource Ecology at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf organized the first international workshop of Advanced Techniques in Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS). A very positive feedback and the wish for a continuation of the workshop were communicated from several participants to the scientific committee during the workshop and beyond. Today, the ATAS workshop has been obviously established as an international forum for the exchange of progress and new experiences on advanced spectroscopic techniques for international actinide and lanthanide research. In comparison to already established workshops and conferences on the field of radioecology, one main focus of ATAS is to generate synergistic effects and to improve the scientific discussion between spectroscopic experimentalists and theoreticians. The exchange of ideas in particular between experimental and theoretical applications in spectroscopy and the presentation of new analytical techniques are of special interest for many research institutions working on the improvement of transport models of toxic elements in the environment and the food chain as well as on reprocessing technologies of nuclear and non-nuclear waste. Spectroscopic studies in combination with theoretical modelling comprise the exploration of molecular mechanisms of complexation processes in aqueous or organic phases and of sorption reactions of the contaminants on mineral surfaces to obtain better process understanding on a molecular level. As a consequence, predictions of contaminant’s migration behaviour will become more reliable and precise. This can improve the monitoring and removal of hazardous elements from the environment and hence, will assist strategies for remediation technologies and risk assessment. Particular emphasis is placed on the results of the first inter-laboratory Round-Robin test on actinide spectroscopy (RRT). The main goal of RRT is the comprehensive molecular analysis of the actinide complex system U(VI)/acetate in aqueous solution independently investigated by different spectroscopic and quantum chemical methods applied by leading laboratories in geochemical research. Conformities as well as sources of discrepancies between the results of the different methods are to be evaluated, illuminating the potentials and limitations of cou-pling different spectroscopic and theoretical ap-proaches as tools for the comprehensive study of actinide molecule complexes. The test is understood to stimulate scientific discussions, but not as a competitive exercise between the labs of the community. Hopefully, the second ATAS workshop will continue to bundle and strengthen respective research activities and ideally act as a nucleus for an international network, closely collaborating with international partners. I am confident that the workshop will deliver many exciting ideas, promote scientific discussions, stimulate new developments and collaborations and in such a way be prosperous. This workshop would not take place without the kind support of the HZDR administration which is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, the or-ganizers cordially thank all public and private sponsors for generous funding which makes this meeting come true for scientists working on the heavy metal research field

Annual Report 2018 - Institute of Resource Ecology

Annual Report 2018 of the scientific activities of the Institute of Resource Ecology of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendor

Annual Report 2015 Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of REsource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). The research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”. Additionally, various activities have been started investigating chemical and environmental aspects of processing and recycling of strategic metals, namely rare earth elements. These activities are located in the HGF program “Energy Efficiency, Materials and Resources (EMR)”. Thus, all scientific work of the IRE belongs to the research field “Energy” of the HGF. The research objective is the protection of humans and the environment from hazards caused by pollutants resulting from technical processes that produce energy and raw materials. Treating technology and ecology as a unity is the major scientific challenge in assuring the safety of technical processes and gaining their public acceptance. We investigate the ecological risks ensued by radioactive and non-radioactive metals in the context of nuclear waste disposal, the production of energy in nuclear power plants and in processes along the value chain of metalliferous raw materials. A common goal is to generate better understanding about the dominating processes essential for metal mobilization and immobilization on the molecular level by using advanced spectroscopic methods. This in turn enables us to assess the macroscopic phenomena, including models, codes and data for predictive calculations, which determine the transport and distribution of contaminants in the environment

Annual Report 2016 Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR). The research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”..

Annual Report 2014 - Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR). The research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”. Additionally, various activities have been started investigating chemical and environmental aspects of processing and recycling of strategic metals, namely rare earth elements. These activities are located in the HGF program “Energy Efficiency, Materials and Resources (EMR)”. Both programs, and therefore all work which is done at IRE, belong to the research sector “Energy” of the HGF. The research objectives are the protection of humans and the environment from hazards caused by pollutants resulting from technical processes that produce energy and raw materials. Treating technology and ecology as a unity is the major scientific challenge in assuring the safety of technical processes and gaining their public acceptance. We investigate the ecological risks exerted by radioactive and nonradioactive metals in the context of nuclear waste disposal, the production of energy in nuclear power plants, and in processes along the value chain of metalliferous raw materials. A common goal is to generate better understanding about the dominating processes essential for metal mobilization and immobilization on the molecular level by using advanced spectroscopic methods. This in turn enables us to assess the macroscopic phenomena, including models, codes, and data for predictive calculations, which determine the transport and distribution of contaminants in the environment

2nd International Workshop on Advanced Techniques for Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS 2014) Abstract Book

In 2012, The Institute of Resource Ecology at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf organized the first international workshop of Advanced Techniques in Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS). A very positive feedback and the wish for a continuation of the workshop were communicated from several participants to the scientific committee during the workshop and beyond. Today, the ATAS workshop has been obviously established as an international forum for the exchange of progress and new experiences on advanced spectroscopic techniques for international actinide and lanthanide research. In comparison to already established workshops and conferences on the field of radioecology, one main focus of ATAS is to generate synergistic effects and to improve the scientific discussion between spectroscopic experimentalists and theoreticians. The exchange of ideas in particular between experimental and theoretical applications in spectroscopy and the presentation of new analytical techniques are of special interest for many research institutions working on the improvement of transport models of toxic elements in the environment and the food chain as well as on reprocessing technologies of nuclear and non-nuclear waste. Spectroscopic studies in combination with theoretical modelling comprise the exploration of molecular mechanisms of complexation processes in aqueous or organic phases and of sorption reactions of the contaminants on mineral surfaces to obtain better process understanding on a molecular level. As a consequence, predictions of contaminant’s migration behaviour will become more reliable and precise. This can improve the monitoring and removal of hazardous elements from the environment and hence, will assist strategies for remediation technologies and risk assessment. Particular emphasis is placed on the results of the first inter-laboratory Round-Robin test on actinide spectroscopy (RRT). The main goal of RRT is the comprehensive molecular analysis of the actinide complex system U(VI)/acetate in aqueous solution independently investigated by different spectroscopic and quantum chemical methods applied by leading laboratories in geochemical research. Conformities as well as sources of discrepancies between the results of the different methods are to be evaluated, illuminating the potentials and limitations of cou-pling different spectroscopic and theoretical ap-proaches as tools for the comprehensive study of actinide molecule complexes. The test is understood to stimulate scientific discussions, but not as a competitive exercise between the labs of the community. Hopefully, the second ATAS workshop will continue to bundle and strengthen respective research activities and ideally act as a nucleus for an international network, closely collaborating with international partners. I am confident that the workshop will deliver many exciting ideas, promote scientific discussions, stimulate new developments and collaborations and in such a way be prosperous. This workshop would not take place without the kind support of the HZDR administration which is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, the or-ganizers cordially thank all public and private sponsors for generous funding which makes this meeting come true for scientists working on the heavy metal research field

Annual Report 2018 - Institute of Resource Ecology

Annual Report 2018 of the scientific activities of the Institute of Resource Ecology of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendor

2nd International Workshop on Advanced Techniques for Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS 2014) Abstract Book

In 2012, The Institute of Resource Ecology at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf organized the first international workshop of Advanced Techniques in Actinide Spectroscopy (ATAS). A very positive feedback and the wish for a continuation of the workshop were communicated from several participants to the scientific committee during the workshop and beyond. Today, the ATAS workshop has been obviously established as an international forum for the exchange of progress and new experiences on advanced spectroscopic techniques for international actinide and lanthanide research. In comparison to already established workshops and conferences on the field of radioecology, one main focus of ATAS is to generate synergistic effects and to improve the scientific discussion between spectroscopic experimentalists and theoreticians. The exchange of ideas in particular between experimental and theoretical applications in spectroscopy and the presentation of new analytical techniques are of special interest for many research institutions working on the improvement of transport models of toxic elements in the environment and the food chain as well as on reprocessing technologies of nuclear and non-nuclear waste. Spectroscopic studies in combination with theoretical modelling comprise the exploration of molecular mechanisms of complexation processes in aqueous or organic phases and of sorption reactions of the contaminants on mineral surfaces to obtain better process understanding on a molecular level. As a consequence, predictions of contaminant’s migration behaviour will become more reliable and precise. This can improve the monitoring and removal of hazardous elements from the environment and hence, will assist strategies for remediation technologies and risk assessment. Particular emphasis is placed on the results of the first inter-laboratory Round-Robin test on actinide spectroscopy (RRT). The main goal of RRT is the comprehensive molecular analysis of the actinide complex system U(VI)/acetate in aqueous solution independently investigated by different spectroscopic and quantum chemical methods applied by leading laboratories in geochemical research. Conformities as well as sources of discrepancies between the results of the different methods are to be evaluated, illuminating the potentials and limitations of cou-pling different spectroscopic and theoretical ap-proaches as tools for the comprehensive study of actinide molecule complexes. The test is understood to stimulate scientific discussions, but not as a competitive exercise between the labs of the community. Hopefully, the second ATAS workshop will continue to bundle and strengthen respective research activities and ideally act as a nucleus for an international network, closely collaborating with international partners. I am confident that the workshop will deliver many exciting ideas, promote scientific discussions, stimulate new developments and collaborations and in such a way be prosperous. This workshop would not take place without the kind support of the HZDR administration which is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, the or-ganizers cordially thank all public and private sponsors for generous funding which makes this meeting come true for scientists working on the heavy metal research field

Annual Report 2016 Institute of Resource Ecology

The Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE) is one of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR). The research activities are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE)” of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”..