When clay minerals, notably smectites, intercalate organic cations, their interlayer surfaces change from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The resultant intercalates, known as organo-clays (OCs), have a large affinity for hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). Organo-clays are used as sorbents of HOCs in wastewater treatment and as sorptive barriers in landfill liners. The structural and sorptive characteristics of OCs with respect to HOCs have been studied extensively, and a large volume of literature has accumulated over the past few decades. The interactions of OCs with HOCs and the various approaches to improving the sorption capacity of OCs are reviewed here, with particular reference to the application of novel analytical techniques, such as molecular modeling, to characterizing the OC—HOC interaction.

One of the central components of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is its victim assistance and environmental remediation provisions (known collectively as the Treaty’s ‘positive obligations’). While there is much to celebrate about efforts to remedy the damage caused by nuclear weapons, the way the TPNW distributes responsibility for this work is troubling. Under the Treaty, the primary responsibility for fulfilling the positive obligations is placed on the states parties that have individuals under their jurisdiction who are affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons and areas under their jurisdiction or control that have been contaminated by the use or testing of nuclear weapons (‘the affected states’) despite the fact that, often, these were not the states responsible for detonating the nuclear weapons. This article examines and critiques the reasons the Treaty’s drafters placed the main responsibility for victim assistance and environmental remediation on affected states. It argues that the rationales underpinning these provisions rest on shaky grounds, and that the Treaty’s approach has potential negative ramifications for nuclear disarmament and understanding the history of the use and testing of nuclear weapons. Further, it explores how the Treaty may play into worrying broader dynamics in public international law whereby the Global North is frequently absolved of responsibility for the harms it causes while the Global South is saddled with obligations to redress an array of harms.

The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in January 2021 has sparked much discussion of the Treaty's positive obligations under Article 6. But while victim assistance under Article 6(1) has received considerable attention, the environmental remediation obligation within Article 6(2) remains underexplored. Filling this gap, this article examines a specific issue relating to environmental remediation under Article 6(2): the scope of nuclear weapons-related activities captured by the obligation imposed upon TPNW parties. Ultimately, it is revealed that significant ambiguity exists as to the scope of activities covered when applying the rules of treaty interpretation of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. After offering some policy arguments both for and against a broad interpretation, this paper recommends that TPNW parties should begin to advance and clarify their positions on this issue in order to clearly identify the scope of Article 6(2).