On the solubility of radium sulfate and carbonate
Radium is one of the most toxic elements and its concentration in different human activities and migration from man-made wastes provokes a strong interest in environmental science. To be able to model the migration process, reliable experimental thermodynamic data of radium compounds are needed.
In this work details of the safe radium source disassembly which were previously used in brachytherapy are described and different methods for conversion of RaSO4 into aqueous solution are reviewed. The method of choice included three cycles of RaSO4 heating in 1.5 M Na2CO3 up to 85 oC, cooling and subsequent removal of supernatant. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the method allows the synthesis of amorphous RaCO3, which can be dissolved in mineral acid. Gamma spectrometric measurements showed that most of the initial RaSO4 was converted into solution and that 7 ± 1 % of the initial 210Pb was co-precipitated with RaCO3. Synthesized RaCO3 was dissolved in HCl to prepare a radium stock solution. 
The radium stock solution was used to determine the solubility of pure RaSO4 and RaCO3 from oversaturation using Na2SO4 and Na2CO3 as a source of sulfate and carbonate ions. The solubility was determined at 25.1 oC as a function of ionic strength using NaCl media. The concentration of radium was measured by gamma spectrometry after separation of the aqueous phase from the solid phase using ultracentrifugation. The extended specific ion interaction theory was used to extrapolate solubility product constants to zero ionic strength (log10 Ksp° = -10.16 ± 0.05 for RaSO4 and log10 Ksp° = -7.73 ± 0.56 for RaCO3) and to calculate ion interaction coefficients.
A comparison of the shapes of the radium solubility curves for both anions with the shapes of corresponding barium solubility curves demonstrates the similarity of the behaviour of radium and barium salts in saline solutions. It can be supposed that due to the similarity of the radium and barium effective ionic radii, and the same charge, these ions undergo similar specific ion interactions in NaCl media.
Radiological risk assessment to marine biota from exposure to NORM from a decommissioned offshore oil and gas pipeline.
Scale residues can accumulate on the interior surfaces of subsea petroleum pipes and may incorporate naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). The persistent nature of 'NORM scale' may result in a radiological dose to the organisms living on or near intact pipelines. Following a scenario of in-situ decommissioning of a subsea pipeline, marine organisms occupying the exteriors or interiors of petroleum structures may have close contact with the scale or other NORM-associated contaminated substances and suffer subsequent radiological effects. This case study used radiological dose modelling software, including the ERICA Tool (v2.0), MicroShield® Pro and mathematical equations, to estimate the likely radiological doses and risks of effects from NORM-contaminated scale to marine biota from a decommissioned offshore oil and gas pipeline. Using activity concentrations of NORM (226Ra, 210Po, 210Pb, 228Ra, 228Th) from a subsea pipeline from Australia, environmental realistic exposure scenarios including radiological exposures from both an intact pipe (external only; accounting for radiation shielding by a cylindrical carbon steel pipe) and a decommissioned pipeline with corrosive breakthrough (resulting in both internal and external radiological exposure) were simulated to estimate doses to model marine organisms. Predicted dose rates for both the external only exposure (ranging from 26 μGy/h to 33 μGy/h) and a corroded pipeline (ranging from 300 μGy/h to 16,000 μGy/h) exceeded screening levels for radiological doses to environmental receptors. The study highlighted the importance of using scale-specific solubility data (i.e., Kd) values for individual NORM radionuclides for ERICA assessments. This study provides an approach for conducting marine organism dose assessments for NORM-contaminated subsea pipelines and highlights scientific gaps required to undertake risk assessments necessary to inform infrastructure decommissioning planning.
Self‐Determination, Wellbeing, and Threats of Harm
David Rodin argues that the right of national-defence as conceived in international law cannot be grounded in the end of defending the lives of individuals. Firstly, having this end is not necessary because there is a right of defence against an invasion that threatens no lives. However, in this context we are to understand that ‘defending lives’ includes defending against certain non-lethal threats. I will argue that threats to national-self determination and self-government are significant non-lethal threats to the wellbeing of individuals that can justify lethal defensive force. Therefore the end of defending individuals can ground a right of national-defence against a ‘bloodless invasion’. Secondly, Rodin argues that defending lives is not a sufficient condition for military action to be national self-defence, because humanitarian intervention is military action to defend individuals, and such action is in deep tension with national self-defence. I will argue that a reductive account, grounded in claims of need and threats of harm, can justify principles of both intervention and non-intervention on the same grounds; that is, protecting the wellbeing of individuals.