6/11/2023 0 Comments Radioactive elements![]() This type of respiration uses energetically favorable electron acceptors in a sequence dictated by the redox potential in their environment. However, microbes use alternative electron acceptors, including radioactive elements, for respiration when growing in an anoxic environment. In oxic environments, oxygen is used as the electron acceptor in microbial respiration, generating H 2O. ![]() The precipitated radionuclide is still radioactive, but it is not transported into solutions, i.e., ground water, as easily as its soluble counterpart. ![]() Through the common metabolic process of reduction, problematic, radioactive elements, like plutonium or uranium, in the target waste can be precipitated to make them easier to collect and dispose. Microorganisms inactivate some radionuclides by adding electrons to them and converting the radionuclides from a soluble to insoluble state. Microorganisms used for bioremediation of radioactive waste demonstrate tolerance or resistance to radioactivity and can even disarm the toxic effects of radioactive waste by sequestering radioactive elements through biosorption and biomineralization processes, or through direct and indirect redox transformation. Still, a garrison of microbial genera have been isolated from radioactive waste sites. Since the harmful ionizing radiation emanates from the atomic element itself, conversion of a radioactive compound to a different molecule will not eliminate the deleterious effects. Given their billion-plus years on the planet, bacteria have evolved masterful and diverse approaches to mineralize, metabolize and otherwise transform harmful compounds to innocuous byproducts. While there are numerous ways to dispose of radioactive waste, biological methods, specifically bioremediation by bacteria, are desirable as they are more environmentally friendly than other methods. In high enough doses, this ionizing radiation causes cell damage to living tissue and organs.Īlthough these compounds have many beneficial uses in research, medicine and industry, radioactive waste can be highly destructive if not properly isolated and disposed of or contained. The energy released from this process is so strong that it rips electrons from atoms and molecules, ionizing them. During this decay process radioactive elements emit ionizing radiation. For example, over billions of years the radioactive elements uranium (U) and thorium (Th) decay into radium (Ra) and radon (Rn), respectively. They are unstable because their atoms spontaneously disintegrate, emitting both particles and energy as they transform into more stable forms. Radioactive elements have no stable isotopes, high molecular weights and fall into groups such as the actinides. Radioactive waste is discharged from many sources, including military operations (such as nuclear weapons manufacture) uranium mining, power plant effluents and medical and research laboratories. Radioactive waste is filled with persistent unstable elements or radionuclides, which emit ionizing radiation as they decay. Properties and Sources of Radioactive Waste
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