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Title: Uranium Biogeochemistry in the Rhizosphere of a Contaminated Wetland

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [1];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [4];  [6];  [3];  [5]
  1. University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)
  2. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia (Bulgaria)
  3. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States)
  4. Texas A & M Univ. at Galveston, TX (United States)
  5. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  6. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States); University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)

The objective of this study was to determine if U sediment concentrations in a Ucontaminated wetland located within the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, were greater in the rhizosphere than in the nonrhizosphere. U concentrations were as much as 1100% greater in the rhizosphere than in the nonrhizosphere fractions; however and importantly, not all paired samples followed this trend. Iron (but not C, N, or S) concentrations were significantly enriched in the rhizosphere. XAS analyses showed that in both sediment fractions, U existed as UO22+ coordinated with iron(III)-oxides and organic matter. A key difference between the two sediment fractions was that a larger proportion of U was adsorbed to Fe(III)-oxides, not organic matter, in the rhizosphere, where significantly greater total Fe concentrations and greater proportions of ferrihydrite and goethite existed. Based on 16S rRNA analyses, most bacterial sequences in both paired samples were heterotrophs, and population differences were consistent with the generally more oxidizing conditions in the rhizosphere. Finally, U was very strongly bound to the whole (unfractionated) sediments, with an average desorption Kd value (Usediment/Uaqueous) of 3972 ± 1370 (mg-U/kg)/(mg-U/L). Together, these results indicate that the rhizosphere can greatly enrich U especially in wetland areas, where roots promote the formation of reactive Fe(III)-oxides.

Research Organization:
University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; AC09-08SR22470; EM0005228; SC0021024
OSTI ID:
2329534
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2335694; OSTI ID: 2467417
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 58, Issue 14; ISSN 0013-936X
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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