Microbial release of 226Ra2+ from (Ba,Ra)SO4 sludges from uranium mine wastes.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology
P M FedorakP M Huck

Abstract

226Ra2+ is removed from uranium mine effluents by coprecipitation with BaSO4. (Ba,Ra)SO4 sludge samples from two Canadian mine sites were found to contain active heterotrophic populations of aerobic, anaerobic, denitrifying, and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Under laboratory conditions, sulfate reduction occurred in batch cultures when carbon sources such as acetate, glucose, glycollate, lactate, or pyruvate were added to samples of (Ba,Ra)SO4 sludge. No external sources of nitrogen or phosphate were required for this activity. Further studies with lactate supplementation showed that once the soluble SO4(2-) in the overlying water was depleted, Ba2+ and 226Ra2+ were dissolved from the (Ba,Ra)SO4 sludge, with the concurrent production of S2-. Levels of dissolved 226Ra2+ reached approximately 400 Bq/liter after 10 weeks of incubation. Results suggest that the ultimate disposal of these sludges must maintain conditions to minimize the activity of the indigenous sulfate-reducing bacteria to ensure that unacceptably high levels of 226Ra2+ are not released to the environment.

References

Jul 1, 1980·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·A J FrancisB J Nine
Feb 1, 1977·Talanta·B Kratochvil, P G Jeremy

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Citations

Jul 14, 2010·Environmental Geochemistry and Health·Robert A ZielinskiJames F Ranville
Nov 11, 2008·Canadian Journal of Microbiology·G M WolfaardtD R Korber
Jun 13, 2002·Waste Management & Research : the Journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA·Myrna J SalloumPhillip M Fedorak

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