Biotransformations of Plutonium and Uranium by Naturally-Occurring Bacteria
DOE sites are contaminated by radionuclides and toxic metals, which are in contact with organic contaminants, reactive minerals, and diverse populations of microorganisms. Actinide species to be stabilized or mobilized in situ via direct and indirect chemical, biological, and geochemical processes. Actinide contamination tends to be broadly dispersed and present at low concentrations and therefore prohibitively costly to remove using conventional methods. Pu contamination is particularly challenging because of personnel exposure concerns and a lack of disposal sites. Bacterial bioremediation is a preferable treatment approach. Given that the radionuclides of most concern to the NABIR program are generally more mobile in their oxidized forms (e.g. Pu(VI), Pu(V), U(VI), Tc(VII), Cr(VI)), proposed biostabilization strategies are generally based upon either in situ sequestration of the oxidized form (e.g. actinide biosorption and bioaccumulation within exopolymers and biofilms) or biomineralization of the reduced form (e.g., direct or indirect production of insoluble hydroxides by DMRB). The feasibility of these approaches is affected by the speciation of actinides under environment conditions. For example, actinides can form complexes with co-contaminants (e.g. EDTA) or natural chelators like siderophores and biopolymers. Resulting complexes can interact with bacteria in several ways to yield biostabilized products or more mobile species that could persist. They are investigating how organic chelators affect the speciation and biotransformation of U and Pu. Previously, they reported how these siderophores bind, desorb and solubilize radionuclides. Here they present new results on EDTA complexation, siderophore-mediated Pu accumulation by aerobic bacteria, and initial studies of Pu reduction by DMRB.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 895286
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-NABIR2004-19; TRN: US0806051
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual NABIR PI Meeting, March 15-17, 2004, Warrenton, VA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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