08/03/2009
Six DOE Science-Funded Research Articles Published in July 15th Edition of ES&T
Summary
Subsurface contamination stemming from post Cold War Era uranium processing remains one of DOE’s most problematic remediation challenges. DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) funds basic interdisciplinary research on the fate and transport of priority metal and radionuclide contaminants in the subsurface at DOE sites. Six separate BER-funded research articles appear in the latest edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology, an authoritative source of environmental process science read by a broad range of environmental researchers and professionals. The articles discuss a range of findings including new mechanisms of mercury reduction; uranium sorption to nanosized iron minerals; mobility of nanosized zerovalent iron; a new uranium immobilization technique; and computer simulations of biomass development, mineral transformation, and changes in local hydrology and geochemistry during field tests of in situ uranium bioremediation. These findings advance understanding of the coupled physical, chemical and biological processes impacting the mobility of priority contaminants at DOE sites so that decision-making for environmental remediation and long term stewardship can be informed by science-based information.
References
Environ. Sci. Technol., 2009, 43(14):5161-5550.