Colloidal Cutin-like Siderophoric Molecules Mobilize Plutonium from Contaminated Soils of the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS), USA
Relatively recently, inorganic colloids have been invoked to reconcile the apparent contradictions between expectations based on classical dissolved-phase Pu transport and field observations of 'enhanced' Pu mobility (Kersting et al. Nature 1999, 397, 56-59). A new paradigm for Pu transport is mobilization and transport via biologically produced ligands. This study for the first time reports a new finding of Pu being transported, at sub-pM concentrations, by a cutin-like natural substance containing siderophore-like moieties and virtually all mobile Pu. Most likely, Pu is complexed by chelating groups derived from siderophores that are covalently bound to a backbone of cutin-derived soil degradation products, thus revealing the history of initial exposure to Pu. Features such as amphiphilicity and small size make this macromolecule an ideal collector for actinides and other metals and a vector for their dispersal. Cross-linking to the hydrophobic domains (e.g., by polysaccharides) gives this macromolecule high mobility and a means of enhancing Pu transport. This finding provides a new mechanism for Pu transport through environmental systems that would not have been predicted by Pu transport models.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Doe - Office Of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 980069
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-92987-2010-JA; TRN: US1005405
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, Issue 22
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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