Minority Access To Research Careers

By, Nicholas G. Beltran Mentor: Dr. Antonio S. Lara Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Appropriate solution to uranium contamination has a great impact on citizens worldwide, especially New Mexicans and people along the US-Mexico border.

 Uranium is toxic  Radioactivity  Chemical toxicity  People are vulnerable to toxic uranium water – this is especially true in New Mexico  New Mexico is the uranium capital of the world (Grants, NM)  New surge in uranium mining expected

Currently FAST, INEXPENSIVE method to remove uranium from water DOES NOT EXIST

 Uranium is a naturally- occurring element  All are alpha emitters  If incorporated into the body may cause health effects Chemical Toxicity U-238 Half-life in years 4.5x10 9 Natural abundance 99.3% Radioactivity U-235 Half-life in years 7.0x10 8 Natural abundance 0.72% Other U-234 Half-life in years 245,500 Natural abundance 0.005%

 Rocks / Soil  Air  Water  Food  EPA Setting Standards for Safe Drinking water (Uranium has a limit of 30 parts per billion)

 Radioactive (U-235) Natural abundance 0.72%  Chromosomal damage  Alpha particles get into the body and are destructive to tissue and cells  Chromosomal breakage may result in translocation  Genetic mutations  May cause birth defects in future generations

 Chemical toxicity (U-238) Natural abundance 99.3%  Heavy metal chemistry (Poisonous to humans)  Kidney damage  U deposits in the brain from the blood stream  Risk for developing nervous system toxicity as a result of uranium accumulation in the brain.

Re-opening of U mines With the re-opening of U mines, there will be an increase of exposure

Eastern AUM Region

 Readily Available  Manageable  Inexpensive  Large surface area  Cation Exchange Capacity 

Berino SoilGallup Soil

Gallup Grants Gallup Grants

 Inductively Coupled Plasma / Mass Spectrograph Versus  LS 55 Luminescence Spectrometer  ICP/MS  Very sensitive down to 1 ppb  But, volume does not remain constant  LS 55 Luminescence Spectrometer  Volume of the sample remains constant  Volume and Soil Surface Area used as a control  But, limit of detection ~500 ppb

Excitation 245 nm Emission 515 nm  LS 55 Luminescence Spectrometer  Phosphorescence measurement

 Uranium Nitrate or Uranyl Nitrate UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 6H 2 O  When exposed to ultraviolet light, U is visible as a faint green glow Uranyl Nitrate 100 ppm phosphorescing

 LS 55 Luminescence Spectrometer  Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)  QUASI  Binding site distribution  Inductively Coupled Plasma / Mass Spectrograph (ICP/MS)

 For a complete solution to uranium contamination  Bacterial Field Assay  Provide reliable detection of toxicity in potential drinking water.  Is there something else?

 EPA. (2006) Uranium Location Database Compilation. EPA 402-R Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Radiation Protection Division (6608J), Washington, DC. Available at  Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC). (2007) Uranium Impact Assessment Program. Available at  Environmental & Occupational Health. Available at   National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant No. GMO  Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program  Special thanks to Dr. Lara, Dr. Parra, Dr. Ulery

Any questions, comments, concerns?

By, Nicholas G. Beltran Mentor: Dr. Antonio S. Lara Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry