Tackling the Complexities of Analyzing Phases in Metallurgical SLAGS
In many areas of the world slags pose potential environmental threats to their surroundings. Heavy metals, toxic and radioactive elements contained in some slags may leach into drinking water and contaminate agricultural areas. Leaching experiments can estimate short-term alteration rates, but such tests cannot reproduce long-term weathering processes. Such studies are particularly important in the case of U- and Th-bearing slags which may remain hazardous for 103 104 years. These radioactive slags are of concern to decisions regarding the termination of a nuclear materials license and the subsequent allowances for unrestricted public use of the smelting sites and slag piles. To thoroughly evaluate leaching from slags, one must understand the distribution of elements among the slag phases and the stability of each phase. Questions regarding the distribution of elements among multiple phases are best answered by detailed electron microprobe (EMP) studies.Slags are often mineralogically and compositionally complex, and may have complicated exposure histories.