Bioremediation of radioactive waste: Radionuclide-microbe interactions in laboratory and field-scale studies

Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Volumn 16, Issue 3 SPEC. ISS., 2005, Pages 254-260

  Lloyd, Jonathan R ^a   Renshaw, Joanna C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BIOREMEDIATION; CHEMICAL LABORATORIES; COSTS; FISSION PRODUCTS; RADIOISOTOPES;

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES; ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS; MICROBIAL TRANSFORMATIONS; NUCLEAR ACTIVITY;

RADIOACTIVE WASTES;

ACTINIDE; AMERICIUM; CARBON 14; CESIUM 137; FERRIC ION; IODINE 129; KRYPTON 85; NEPTUNIUM 237; PLUTONIUM; RADIOISOTOPE; STRONTIUM 90; TECHNETIUM 99M; TRITIUM; URANIUM;

ARTHROBACTER; BACTERIAL GENE; BACTERIAL STRAIN; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING; BIOREMEDIATION; COMPREHENSION; COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS; DESULFOVIBRIO; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT; GRAM POSITIVE BACTERIUM; LABORATORY; MICROBIAL COLONIZATION; MICROBIAL GROWTH; MICROFLORA; MICROORGANISM; MOLECULAR INTERACTION; NONHUMAN; NUCLEAR INDUSTRY; NUCLEAR WASTE; OXIDATION; OXIDATION REDUCTION REACTION; PRECIPITATION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING; REDUCTION; RESEARCH; REVIEW; RNA GENE; SEDIMENT; SOLID; SULFATE REDUCING BACTERIUM; WASTE MANAGEMENT;

EID: 20444393494     PISSN: 09581669     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2005.04.012     Document Type: Review

References (36)

1. Lloyd JR, Renshaw JC: Microbial transformations of radionuclides: fundamental mechanisms and biogeochemical implications. Met Ions Biol Syst 2005, 43: in press. This recent review discusses the interactions of microorganisms with a wide range of radionuclides, and notes how such interactions can impact on their mobility in the environment. There is also useful information on how these natural processes can be used for in situ and ex situ remediation of radioactive waste.
2. J.R. Lloyd, D.R. Lovley, and L.E. Macaskie Biotechnological application of metal-reducing bacteria Adv Appl Microbiol 53 2003 85 128
3. F.W. Whicker, T.G. Hinton, M.M. MacDonell, J.E. Pinder III, and L.J. Habegger Avoiding destructive remediation at DOE sites Science 303 2004 1615 1616 This paper discusses the financial and environmental costs of invasive remediation approaches, and argues the advantages of passive natural attenuation of sites with measurable but low levels of contamination dispersed over large volumes of soil and water.
4. E.R. Landa Uranium mill tailings: nuclear waste and natural laboratory for geochemical and radioecological investigations J Environ Radioact 77 2004 1 27
5. E. Chicote, D. Moreno, A. Garcia, I. Sarro, P. Lorenzo, and F. Montero Biofouling on the walls of a spent nuclear fuel pool with radioactive ultrapure water Biofouling 20 2004 35 42
6. J.K. Fredrickson, J.M. Zachara, D.L. Balkwill, D. Kennedy, S.M.W. Li, H.M. Kostandarithes, M.J. Daly, M.F. Romine, and F.J. Brockman Geomicrobiology of high-level nuclear waste-contaminated vadose sediments at the Hanford site, Washington State Appl Environ Microbiol 70 2004 4230 4241 One of only a few studies that have addressed the microbial ecology of sediments impacted with high-level radioactive waste. Cultivation techniques were employed alongside molecular ecology approaches to detect a range of microorganisms, some of which were resistant to radioactivity.
7. T.N. Nazina, I.M. Kosareva, V.V. Petrunyaka, M.K. Savushkina, E.G. Kudriavtsev, V.A. Lebedev, V.D. Ahunov, Y.A. Revenko, R.R. Khafizov, and G.A. Osipov Microbiology of formation waters from the deep repository of liquid radioactive wastes Severnyi FEMS Microbiol Ecol 49 2004 97 107 In this paper, the authors surveyed the microbiology of a deep repository injected with liquid waste containing fission products of uranium, other metals and sodium salts (nitrate, acetate, carbonate and sulfate). Sampling at a depth of 162-405 m, a wide range of anaerobic microorganisms were found and in some cases were stimulated by contamination with the radioactive waste.
8. K.E. German, E.V. Firsova, V.F. Peretrukhin, T.V. Khizhnyak, and M. Simonoff Bioaccumulation of Tc, Pu, and Np on bottom sediments in two types of freshwater lakes of the Moscow Oblast Radiochemistry 45 2003 229 235
9. C.E. Ruggiero, H. Boukhalfa, J.H. Forsythe, J.G. Lack, L.E. Hersman, and M.P. Neu Actinide and metal toxicity to prospective bioremediation bacteria Environ Microbiol 7 2005 88 97 Very few studies have looked at the interactions between microorganisms and actinides other than uranium. In this interesting paper, the authors assess the toxicity of uranium, as well as plutonium and neptunium, to a range of bacteria. Plutonium was supplied in two oxidation states (VI and IV) and inhibited growth only at millimolar concentrations under the conditions tested. It is unlikely that these concentrations of soluble Pu would be present in the environment, indicating that toxicity of actinides may not pose a problem for in situ bioremediation.
10. R.T. Anderson, H.A. Vrionis, I. Ortiz-Bernad, C.T. Resch, P.E. Long, R. Dayvault, K. Karp, S. Marutzky, D.R. Metzler, and A. Peacock Stimulating the in situ activity of Geobacter species to remove uranium from the groundwater of a uranium-contaminated aquifer Appl Environ Microbiol 69 2003 5884 5891 This paper is one of the first to demonstrate biostimulation of subsurface metal-reducing bacteria for the in situ remediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater. It also presents promising results with a balanced view of the current limitations of the techniques used.
11. S.C. Brooks, J.K. Fredrickson, S.L. Carroll, D.W. Kennedy, J.M. Zachara, A.E. Plymale, S.D. Kelly, K.M. Kemner, and S. Fendorf Inhibition of bacterial U(VI) reduction by calcium Environ Sci Technol 37 2003 1850 1858 This paper provides a very useful reminder of the controlling influence of groundwater chemistry on microbial biomineralization processes.
12. Y. Suzuki, S.D. Kelly, K.A. Kemner, and J.F. Banfield Microbial populations stimulated for hexavalent uranium reduction in uranium mine sediment Appl Environ Microbiol 69 2003 1337 1346
13. Y. Suzuki, S. Kelly, K. Kemner, and J. Banfield Enzymatic U(VI) ireduction by Desulfosporosinus species Radiochim Acta 92 2004 11 16
14. K.P. Nevin, K.T. Finneran, and D.R. Lovley Microorganisms associated with uranium bioremediation in a high-salinity subsurface sediment Appl Environ Microbiol 69 2003 3672 3675
15. J. Istok, J. Senko, L. Krumholz, D. Watson, M. Bogle, A. Peacock, Y. Chang, and D. White In situ bioreduction of technetium and uranium in a nitrate-contaminated aquifer Environ Sci Technol 38 2004 468 475 This paper describes the application of single-well, push-pull tests to determine if aquifer microbial communities can be stimulated in situ to reduce and immobilise U(VI) and Tc(VII). It also illustrates the controlling influence of nitrate, which had a negative effect on U(VI) reduction and needed prior treatment.
16. D.A. Elias, L.R. Krumholz, D. Wong, P.E. Long, and J.M. Suflita Characterization of microbial activities and U reduction in a shallow aquifer contaminiated by uranium mill tailings Microb Ecol 46 2003 83 91
17. N.N. North, S.L. Dollhopf, L. Petrie, J.D. Istok, D.L. Balkwill, and J.E. Kostka Change in bacterial community structure during in situ biostimulation of subsurface sediment cocontaminated with uranium and nitrate Appl Environ Microbiol 70 2004 4911 4920 Part of an increasing body of literature focusing on the microbiology of the DOE FRC site at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It provides one of the first cultivation-independent analyses of the change in metal-reducing microbial communities in subsurface sediments during an in situ bioremediation experiment.
18. L. Petrie, N.N. North, S.L. Dollhopf, D.L. Balkwill, and J.E. Kostka Enumeration and characterization of iron(III)-reducing microbial communities from acidic subsurface sediments contaminated with uranium(VI) Appl Environ Microbiol 69 2003 7467 7479
19. E.S. Shelobolina, K. O'Neill, K.T. Finneran, L.A. Hayes, and D.R. Lovley Potential for in situ bioremediation of a low-pH, high-nitrate uranium-contaminated groundwater Soil Sediment Contamination 12 2003 865 884
20. 3 of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strain G20 Arch Microbiol 181 2004 398 406
21. 3 of Desulfovibrio vulgaris is directly involved in H-2-mediated metal but not sulfate reduction Appl Environ Microbiol 70 2004 413 420
22. J. Heidelberg, I.T.N.K. Paulsen, E.J. Gaidos, W.C. Nelson, T.D. Read, J.A. Eisen, R. Seshadri, N. Ward, B. Methe, and R.A. Clayton Genome sequence of the dissimilatory metal ion-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis Nat Biotechnol 20 2002 1118 1123
23. B. Methe, K. Nelson, J. Eisen, I. Paulsen, W. Nelson, J. Heidelberg, D. Wu, M. Wu, N. Ward, and M. Beanan Genome of Geobacter sulfurreducens: metal reduction in subsurface environments Science 302 2003 1967 1969
24. I. Ortiz-Bernad, R.T. Anderson, H.A. Vrionis, and D.R. Lovley Resistance of solid-phase U(VI) to microbial reduction during in situ bioremediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater Appl Environ Microbiol 70 2004 7558 7560 This paper focuses on the fate of U(VI) sorbed to mineral surfaces in the subsurface, and the authors propose that this fraction is not 'bioavailable' for enzymatic reduction. This raises the question of identifying a suitable end-point for bioremediation using U(VI)-reducing bacteria, which may ultimately depend on the stability of the sorbed (but not reduced) U(VI).
25. O.H. Jeon, S.D. Kelly, K.M. Kemner, M.O. Barnett, W.D. Burgos, B.A. Dempsey, and E.E. Roden Microbial reduction of U(VI) at the solid-water interface Environ Sci Technol 38 2004 5649 5655
26. R.K. Sani, B.M. Peyton, J.E. Amonette, and G.G. Geesey Reduction of uranium(VI) under sulfate-reducing conditions in the presence of Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides Geochim Cosmochim Acta 68 2004 2639 2648 This paper illustrates nicely the potential complexity of the biogeochemical cycle for uranium and its interplay with the iron and sulfur cycles.
27. A.L. Neal, J.E. Amonette, B.M. Peyton, and G.G. Geesey Uranium complexes formed at hematite surfaces colonized by sulfate-reducing bacteria Environ Sci Technol 38 2004 3019 3027
28. H. Beyenal, R.K. Sani, B.M. Peyton, A.C. Dohnalkova, J.E. Amonette, and Z. Lewandowski Uranium immobilization by sulfate-reducing biofilms Environ Sci Technol 38 2004 2067 2074
29. Y. Suzuki, and J.F. Banfield Resistance to, and accumulation of, uranium by bacteria from a uranium-contaminated site Geomicrobiol J 21 2004 113 121
30. E.S. Shelobolina, S.A. Sullivan, K.R. O'Neill, K.P. Nevin, and D.R. Lovley Isolation, characterization, and U(VI)-reducing potential of a facultatively anaerobic, acid-resistant bacterium from low-pH, nitrate- and U(VI)-contaminated subsurface sediment and description of Salmonella subterranea sp. nov Appl Environ Microbiol 70 2004 2959 2965
31. A. Abdelouas, B. Grambow, M. Fattahi, Y. Andres, and E. Leclerc-Cessac Microbial reduction of Tc-99 in organic matter-rich soils Sci Total Environ 336 2005 255 268
32. N. Ishii, K. Tagami, S. Enomoto, and S. Uchida Influence of microorganisms on the behavior of technetium and other elements in paddy soil surface water J Environ Radioact 77 2004 369 380
33. R.E. Wildung, S.W. Li, C.J. Murray, K.M. Krupka, Y. Xie, N.J. Hess, and E.E. Roden Technetium reduction in sediments of a shallow aquifer exhibiting dissimilatory iron reduction potential FEMS Microbiol Ecol 40 2004 151 162 This very thorough study shows how a wide range of approaches, including thermodynamic calculations, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and statistical analyses, can be used to identify the dominant reduction mechanisms (abiotic and biotic) for Tc(VII) in sediments.
34. T.V. Khijniak, N.N. Medvedeva-Lyalikova, and M. Simonoff Reduction of pertechnetate by haloalkaliphilic strains of Halomonas FEMS Microbiol Ecol 44 2003 109 115
35. A. Maes, K. Geraedts, C. Bruggeman, J. VanCluysen, A. Rossberg, and C. Hennig Evidence for the interaction of technetium colloids with humic substances by X-ray absorption spectroscopy Environ Sci Technol 38 2004 2044 2051
36. - by sediment-associated biogenic Fe(II) Geochim Cosmochim Acta 68 2004 3171 3187