Biogeochemistry of uranium in the soil-plant and water-plant systems in an old uranium mine

Favas, Paulo J.C.; Pratas, João; Mitra, Soumita; Sarkar, Santosh Kumar; Venkatachalam, P.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.024

Cited by 60 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 140 publications

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“…Very few publications have studied plant 232 Th bioaccumulation, but samples from South Terras and Needle's Eye displayed bioaccumulation characteristics that were consistent with another study (Vera Tomé et al, 2002). In contrast, plant 238 U and 226 Ra bioaccumulation has been more widely examined (Al-Hamarneh et al, 2016;Amaral et al, 2005;Favas et al, 2016;Soudek et al, 2007;Vera Tomé et al, 2002), and the concentrations seen here in above-ground tissues were within similar ranges to those observed before. However, apart from some exceptions (Cordeiro et al, 2016;Favas et al, 2016), few other studies have quantified radionuclide bioaccumulation and partitioning into roots of non-crop plant species as performed here.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…In contrast, plant 238 U and 226 Ra bioaccumulation has been more widely examined (Al-Hamarneh et al, 2016;Amaral et al, 2005;Favas et al, 2016;Soudek et al, 2007;Vera Tomé et al, 2002), and the concentrations seen here in above-ground tissues were within similar ranges to those observed before. However, apart from some exceptions (Cordeiro et al, 2016;Favas et al, 2016), few other studies have quantified radionuclide bioaccumulation and partitioning into roots of non-crop plant species as performed here. This has important implications as it allows better consideration of the low risks of further trophic transfer if the bulk of the accumulated radionuclides is actually retained within the root tissues.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

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Multiple environmental factors influence 238U, 232Th and 226Ra bioaccumulation in arbuscular mycorrhizal-associated plants

Davies

Rosas-Moreno

Cox

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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Ecological consequences of low-dose radioactivity from natural sources or radioactive waste are important to understand but knowledge gaps still remain. In particular, the soil transfer and bioaccumulation of radionuclides into plant roots is poorly studied. Furthermore, better knowledge of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi association may help understand the complexities of radionuclide bioaccumulation within the rhizosphere. Plant bioaccumulation of uranium, thorium and radium was demonstrated at two field sites, where plant tissue concentrations reached up to 46.93 μg gU, 0.67 μg gTh and 18.27 kBq kgRa. High root retention of uranium was consistent in all plant species studied. In contrast, most plants showed greater bioaccumulation of thorium and radium into above-ground tissues. The influence of specific soil parameters on root radionuclide bioaccumulation was examined. Total organic carbon significantly explained the variation in root uranium concentration, while other soil factors including copper concentration, magnesium concentration and pH significantly correlated with root concentrations of uranium, radium and thorium, respectively. All four orders of Glomeromycota were associated with root samples from both sites and all plant species studied showed varying association with AM fungi, ranging from zero to >60% root colonisation by fungal arbuscules. Previous laboratory studies using single plant-fungal species association had found a positive role of AM fungi in root uranium transfer, but no significant correlation between the amount of fungal infection and root uranium content in the field samples was found here. However, there was a significant negative correlation between AM fungal infection and radium accumulation. This study is the first to examine the role of AM fungi in radionuclide soil-plant transfer at a community level within the natural environment. We conclude that biotic factors alongside various abiotic factors influence the soil-plant transfer of radionuclides and future mechanistic studies are needed to explain these interactions in more detail.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Multiple environmental factors influence 238U, 232Th and 226Ra bioaccumulation in arbuscular mycorrhizal-associated plants

Davies

Rosas-Moreno

Cox

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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“…These trees are cultivated in the area for production of wood and cellulose, indicating that a better evaluation of the translocation and transfer factors of radionuclides to bark and leaves should be better investigated in order to provide a more accurate understanding about possible exposure routes to humans. Similar results were found by Favas et al (2016) for terrestrial species that could be used as diagnostic tools for monitoring U environmental pollution in a mining area, as they accumulate more U near the mine. Therefore, the authors alert that the use of the biomasses from the surrounding should be restricted so these plants could potentially be used to control U contamination in abiotic matrices reducing risks of its transfer to higher tropic levels.…”

Section: Uptake Of Radionuclides By Pine Tree and Eucalyptus Species supporting

confidence: 82%

“…The TF values must be interpreted cautiously because there is no differentiation between adsorption to the tissue surface and real absorption into the plant, or other mechanisms of radionuclide retention (Favas et al, 2016), specially for the leaves. Variable distribution of U and Po in soils also difficult the interpretation of TF values (Shtangeeva, 2010).…”

Section: Uptake Of Radionuclides By Soybean and Wheatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural radionuclides in plants, soils and sediments affected by U-rich coal mining activities in Brazil

Galhardi

Garcı́a-Tenorio

Bonotto

et al. 2017

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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Mining activities can increase the mobility of metals by accelerating the dissolution and leaching of minerals from the rocks and tailing piles to the environment and, consequently, their availability for plants and subsequent transfer to the food chain. The weathering of minerals and the disposal of coal waste in tailing piles can accelerate the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD), which is responsible for the higher dissolution of metals in mining areas. In this context, the behavior of U, Th and K in soils and sediment, and the transfer factor (TF) of U,U and Po for soybean, wheat, pine and eucalyptus cultivated around a coal mine in southern Brazil was evaluated. Alpha and gamma spectrometry were used for the measurements of the activity concentration of the radioelements.Po was the radionuclide that is most accumulated in the plants, especially in the leaves. When comparing the plant species, pine showed the highest TF values for U (0.311 ± 0.420) for leaves, while eucalyptus showed the highest TF forU (0.344 ± 0.414) for leaves. In general, TF were higher for the leaves of soybean and wheat when compared to the grains, and grains of wheat showed higher TF for Po andU than grains of soybean. Deviations from the natural U isotopic ratio were recorded at all investigated areas, indicating possible industrial and mining sources of U for the vegetables. A safety assessment of transport routes and accumulation of radionuclides in soils with a potential for cultivation is important, mainly in tropical areas contaminated with solid waste and effluents from mines and industry.

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“…The objective of this study was to screen plant species for their ability to rehabilitate As-and U-contaminated soils in former uranium mining or milling sites [33]. In order to improve efficiency in screening potential accumulator species for phytoremediation, it may be helpful to know the identity of species growing in polluted areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Arsenic and Uranium Pollution Surrounding a Uranium Mine in Southwestern China and Phytoremediation Potential

Li¹,

Dong²,

Yang³

et al. 2019

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Heavy metal pollution by both uranium and arsenic has become a major environmental problem associated with uranium mining worldwide. At present, physical, chemical and biological technologies are available as the main remediation techniques. Among them, phytoremediation is relatively low cost, hinders more pollution and allows for fast recycling of the uranium as compared to other techniques. However, suitable phytoremediation depends critically on the better choice of plant species. In this study, field sampling of soils and plants surrounding a uranium mine was conducted, and atomic emission spectrometry of samples performed, in order to characterize the distribution of heavy metal pollution and to provide a scientific basis for the phytoremediation of uranium mining sites. Soil uranium concentrations were found to be highest in open-pit mine sites, followed by ore dressing investigation sites and also the river confluence sites. Uranium did not migrate from active mining areas and the highest uranium concentration measured 232.70 mg×kg-1. In contrast, arsenic regularly migrated downstream, with soil concentrations averaging 47.26 mg×kg-1 , two times the limit set by the Three Grade Standard of Soil Quality in China (GB 15618-1995). Rumex nepalensis accumulated high levels of uranium, with a bioconcentration factor of 3.60 and a transfer factor of 3.61. Polygonum viviparum was able to accumulate arsenic, with a root transfer factor of 3.69, and also uranium as indicated by a bioconcentration factor greater than one. Thus, our investigations improved the understanding of the potential role of Polygonum viviparum and Rumex nepalensis involved in phytoremediation of uranium or uranium-arsenic pollution.

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Biogeochemistry of uranium in the soil-plant and water-plant systems in an old uranium mine

Cited by 60 publications

References 140 publications

Multiple environmental factors influence 238U, 232Th and 226Ra bioaccumulation in arbuscular mycorrhizal-associated plants

Multiple environmental factors influence 238U, 232Th and 226Ra bioaccumulation in arbuscular mycorrhizal-associated plants

Natural radionuclides in plants, soils and sediments affected by U-rich coal mining activities in Brazil

Characterization of Arsenic and Uranium Pollution Surrounding a Uranium Mine in Southwestern China and Phytoremediation Potential

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