Abstract
In water-rock interactions, microbes play an important role in mobilization and immobilization of metals, including radionuclides. Water of three wells from a rhyolite joint aquifer known for high Rn and Ra concentrations were investigated for their microbial communities and hydrochemistry. The saline waters of NaCl type were used to isolate strains of the native microbe population. Both Gram-negative, like Pseudomonas grimontii, and Gram-positive, e.g. Mycobacterium hodleri, were identified. These microbes can produce siderophores, necessary to supply the cells with iron. In addition to iron, such small molecules may complex other elements, including radionuclides. Thus, they can impact the mobility of radionuclides in the groundwater. The potential of microbial processes in radionuclide reactive transfer is further discussed with respect to other potential mechanisms.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the BMBF (F.-Nr.: 02NUK030C). We want to thank the ‘Kurverwaltung Bad Kreuznach’ providing hydrochemical data, and Dirk Merten, Gerit Weinzierl and Ines Kamp for the hydrochemical analyses.
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Burow, K., Gärtner, S., Grawunder, A., Kothe, E., Büchel, G. (2015). Microbial consortia in radionuclide rich groundwater. In: Merkel, B., Arab, A. (eds) Uranium - Past and Future Challenges. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11059-2_36
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11059-2_36
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