九乡新闻网解放军07式单兵携具:Algae Could Be Key to Cleaning Up Nuclear Accident Sites | Popular Science
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Algae Could Be Key to Cleaning Up Nuclear Accident Sites
By Clay DillowPosted 04.01.2011 www.popsci.com
C. moniliferum, Crystallizing StrontiumMinna R. Krejci et al. via CHEMSUSCHEMAlgae can secrete biofuels and pump out biologic drugs,and now researchers think it could help clean up radioactive accidentslike the one unfolding at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear facility. ANorthwestern University researcher has identified a certain kind ofcommon algae, known as Closterium moniliferum, that has a unique penchant for sequestering strontium into crystals, a trick that could help remove the dangerous radioactive isotope strontium-90 from the environment.
Strontium-90 is particularly hazardous because of its similarity tocalcium. Because the two atoms share similar atomic properties,radioactive strontium can end up getting into the same places calciumcan, like milk, bones, bone marrow, and blood. But strontium-90 isn’t adominant element in reactor waste--there is usually billions of timesmore harmless calcium than strontium in a nuclear spill--so being ableto separate the two is critical for quick and efficient cleanup.
That’s where C. moniliferumcomes in. The algae’s real interest is barium, but because a strontiumatom is somewhere between calcium and barium in properties and size thealgae happily vacuums up and crystallizes the strontium as well. Butcritically, it leaves calcium behind, meaning cleanup efforts don’t endup sequestering a bunch of harmless calcium along with the dangerousstrontium. And because the algae are really hunting for barium, theresearchers think it’s possible to seed a radioactive site with a smallamount of barium to accelerate the entire process.
That saves both time and money, and in the midst of a massivedisaster cleanup effort like the ongoing one in Japan, both time andmoney are extremely valuable. For their part, the algae waste little ofeither--they are easy to culture and begin to precipitate crystals ofstrontium within a half hour of contact. Strafe a stricken nuclear sitewith the tiny organisms, and you could have them hunting andsequestering strontium in a matter of minutes.