Radionuclide Geomicrobiology of the Deep Biosphere

Abstract

This review summarizes research into interactions between microorganisms and radionuclides under conditions typical of a repository for high-level radioactive waste in deep hard rock environments at a depth of approximately 500 m. The cell–radionuclide interactions of strains of two bacterial species (i.e., Shewanella putrefaciens and Desulfovibrio aespoeensis) with Cm, Pm, and Pu were investigated in vitro and the results were found to agree with literature data. Siderophores are capable of binding actinides strongly and need to be considered in terms of radionuclide mobility in the subsurface. Siderophores and other bioligands were found to have a generally very strong mobilizing effect on Am, Cm, Fe, Np, Pm, Pu, Th, and U. Where reduced groundwater enters an aerobic environment, such as a large open fracture or fracture zone (e.g., in tunnels), there is the possibility of rapid aerobic bacterial metabolism, microbial proliferation, biofilm development, and iron oxide formation. In these environments, the stalk-forming bacterium Gallionella may act as a scaffold for iron oxide precipitation on biological material. In situ work in the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory tunnel indicated that the concentrations of biological iron oxides, lanthanides, and actinides correlated positively with Gallionella biomass, a finding that compares well to literature data. In deep oligotrophic subsurface granitic rock environments, fracture biofilms reach a threshold of approximately 2–5 × 10⁶ cells cm⁻². The cells in these biofilms are spatially distinct and are surrounded by an extracellular polysaccharide matrix that constitutes up to 60% of the total organic carbon. Calcium-rich amorphous masses are associated with this base layer of cells and organic exudates. In situ, these biofilms have been found to influence the adsorption and immobilization of Am, Np, Pm, Th, and U. This review demonstrates that microorganisms can influence, and sometimes even control, the migration behavior of radionuclides in deep geological environments typical of future sites for radioactive waste repositories.

Keywords:

• adsorption
• bacteria
• ligand
• immobilization
• mobilization