[1] Many such colloids are formed by the hydrolysis of heavy metals cations or radionuclides, such as, for example, Tc(OH)4, Th(OH)4, U(OH)4, Pu(OH)4, or Am(OH)3.
Eigencolloid formation occurs readily in groundwater upon storage of radioactive waste.
Colloid-facilitated transport is a mechanism responsible for the mobilisation of radionuclides into the wider environment, causing radioactive contamination.
This is a public health concern since elevated radioactivity in the environment is mutagenic and can lead to cancer.
Eigencolloids have been implicated in the long-range transport of plutonium on the Nevada Test Site.