Treatment of radioactive uranium contamination by bacteria

Uranium radioactive contamination

According to the US Energy Commission, uranium radioactivity in nuclear power plants, arsenals, research centers and areas where nuclear bombs have occurred such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, . every year poisoning 2500 billion liters of groundwater in the world. This source of radioactive water will then be absorbed into plants, animals that drink right away, or dissolve into human water supplies and eventually accumulate into the body.

This is the cause of deformed mutations, diseases . for natural living bodies. According to the commission's investigation, the quality of radioactivity leaking in the air, does not pose a serious danger to humans by the amount of radioactivity in the water. Because, in the air - radiation rays have only a very limited impact space and diminish over time; In the water, it can go further and poison the surrounding areas. Not only is their influence increasing over time as the accumulation of radioactivity in the water becomes larger. Therefore, when Hiroshima and Chernobyl were directly affected by nuclear radiation, but the regions far away from the surrounding area were also affected, due to the groundwater resources connected between regions. The symptoms of radiation poisoning on the human body have been found in areas far away from these two radioactive centers, although in theory these areas cannot be affected because they are too far from the radioactive rays after the explosions. However, the actual results show that they are still affected .

Solution to treat radioactive contamination with bacteria.

For more than a decade, scientists at the University of Colombia (USA) have discovered a Super Bacteria capable of helping humans handle radioactive Uranium molecules. The name of the bacterium is Tshewanella oneidensis of the Tshewanella family. In natural life, they link into unsustainable corporations that look like pearl beads that each pearl is a bacterium. Each string is 5 mm long, the chains are joined together to create a tangled network.

This is an optional anaerobic strain without oxygen, which uses the energy supplied from radioactive molecules. Accordingly, they will proceed to extract the electrons of the Uranium molecule that have a strong toxicity to the water source because they dissolve infinitely in the water, then Uranite becomes a benign molecule. They are also known as dioxide uranium (UO ₂ ), insoluble in water and quite chemically inert. Therefore, they can be recovered by traditional filtering methods or by ion exchange columns. When Tshewanella oneidensis activity secretes a dry slime, it forms a hard crust that prevents the leakage of uranium dissolved inside to the outside, much like Tshewanella oneidensis also creates a prison. to confine uranium.

Results of environmental analysis Tshewanella oneidensis

Hoping for the environment without radioactive contamination

Now scientists are working on a new step, which is to understand how the mechanism of Tshewanella oneidensis can convert uranium into uranite, and because the current strain of the bacterium is not so strong, they need to create stronger mutants, to speed up uranium metabolism.

Furthermore, because of the forced air consolidation and Tshewanella oneidensis activity decreased with oxygen, scientists also sought to maintain their activity in an oxygen-containing environment. The difficulties are still there but scientists always believe that the near future will be obtained, the best bacteria. To improve the environmental pollution caused by radioactive uranium, ensure a safe life for people, near the nuclear power plant area.

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Vu Cong Phong (Collection - compiled)
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