Phytoremediation of 137Cs, 60Co, 241Am, and 239Pu from aquatic solutions using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Scenedesmus obliquus, and Chlorella vulgaris.

NOVELTY STATEMENT: Ecologically suitable methods for the decontamination of liquid radioactive waste or radioactively contaminated areas are becoming more and more important due to the pollution of the planet. We believe that phytoremediation of radionuclides using microalgae is one of the optimal ecological methods to decontamination of radioactive waste. Microalgae as unicellular organisms have a number of advantages over the other organisms used in bioremediation-high level of tolerance to the environment, fast growth rates, high tolerance to various pH levels, etc. In this study, we used 3 different strains of microalgae for phytoremediation of various radionuclides (137Cs, 60Co, 241Am, and 239Pu). This research was focused on ex situ phytoremediation of radionuclides using microalgae at various pH levels of radioactively contaminated solutions. Due to the ability of microalgae to adapt to sometimes even extreme pH values, this research may be interesting for many institutions and researchers dealing with more environmentally friendly methods of decontamination of radioactive waste.

RADIOACTIVE REMEDIATION OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS USING MICROALGAE.

Radionuclides that have entered the environment through nuclear weapon tests, nuclear accidents or other human activities represent an ecological hazard. Many decontamination techniques are technically and financially demanding and often not environmentally beneficial. A suitable alternative is bioremediation techniques. One of them, phycoremediation utilizes the metabolic activity of microorganisms that degrade or eliminate contaminants from the environment. In our work, we focused on phycoremediation with microalgae Dunaliella salina and Chlorella vulgaris. An important parameter was the determination of the optimal pH values of the environment and subsequent monitoring of the radionuclide activity decline over time.