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Lai JL, Li ZG, Han MW, Huang Y, Xi HL, Luo XG. Analysis of environmental biological effects and OBT accumulation potential of microalgae in freshwater systems exposed to tritium pollution. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 250:121013. [PMID: 38118252 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
The ecological risk of tritiated wastewater into the environment has attracted much attention. Assessing the ecological risk of tritium-containing pollution is crucial by studying low-activity tritium exposure's environmental and biological effects on freshwater micro-environment and the enrichment potential of organically bound tritium (OBT) in microalgae and aquatic plants. The impact of tritium-contaminated wastewater on the microenvironment of freshwater systems was analyzed using microcosm experiments to simulate tritium pollution in freshwater systems. Low activity tritium pollution (105 Bq/L) induced differences in microbial abundance, with Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Desulfobacterota occupying important ecological niches in the water system. Low activity tritium (105-107 Bq/L) did not affect the growth of microalgae and aquatic plants, but OBT was significantly enriched in microalgae and two aquatic plants (Pistia stratiotes, Spirodela polyrrhiza), with the enrichment coefficients of 2.08-3.39 and 1.71-2.13, respectively. At the transcriptional level, low-activity tritium (105 Bq/L) has the risk of interfering with gene expression in aquatic plants. Four dominant cyanobacterial strains (Leptolyngbya sp., Synechococcus elongatus, Nostoc sp., and Anabaena sp.) were isolated and demonstrated good environmental adaptability to tritium pollution. Environmental factors can modify the tritium accumulation potential in cyanobacteria and microalgae, theoretically enhancing food chain transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Long Lai
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, China; State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing, 102205, China
| | - Zhan-Guo Li
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing, 102205, China
| | - Meng-Wei Han
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing, 102205, China
| | - Yan Huang
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, China
| | - Hai-Ling Xi
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing, 102205, China.
| | - Xue-Gang Luo
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, China.
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Wang D, Zhou Q, Yin Y, Lu D, Hu L, Richmond RH, Moon HB, Yan B, Jiang G. Implications of Fukushima's Radioactive Water Discharge on Global Environmental Sustainability. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38330250 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Dingyi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Qunfang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Yongguang Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Dawei Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Ligang Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Robert H Richmond
- Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, United States
| | - Hyo-Bang Moon
- Department of Marine Science and Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Bing Yan
- Institute of Environmental Research at the Greater Bay Area, Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Guibin Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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Feng B, Ibesich M, Hainz D, Waidhofer D, Veit-Öller M, Trunner C, Stummer T, Foster M, Nemetz M, Welch JM, Villa M, Sterba JH, Musilek A, Renz F, Steinhauser G. Development of a Novel Passive Monitoring Technique to Showcase the 3D Distribution of Tritiated Water (HTO) Vapor in Indoor Air of a Nuclear Facility. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:20024-20033. [PMID: 37964532 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Tritiated water (HTO), a ubiquitous byproduct of the nuclear industry, is a radioactive contaminant of major concern for environmental authorities. Although understanding spatiotemporal heterogeneity of airborne HTO vapor holds great importance for radiological safety as well as diagnosing a reactor's status, comprehensive HTO distribution dynamics inside nuclear facilities has not been studied routinely yet due to a lack of appropriate monitoring techniques. For current systems, it is difficult to simultaneously achieve high representativeness, sensitivity, and spatial resolution. Here, we developed a passive monitoring scheme, including a newly designed passive sampler and a tailored analytical protocol for the first comprehensive 3D distribution characterization of HTO inside a nuclear reactor facility. The technique enables linear sampling in any environment at a one-day resolution and simultaneous preparation of hundreds of samples within 1 day. Validation experiments confirmed the method's good metrological properties and sensitivity to the HTO's spatial dynamics. The air in TU Wien's reactor hall exhibits a range of 3H concentrations from 75-946 mBq m-3 in the entire 3D matrix. The HTO release rate estimated by the mass-balance model (3199 ± 306 Bq h-1) matches the theoretical calculation (2947 ± 254 Bq h-1), suggesting evaporation as the dominant HTO source in the hall. The proposed method provides reliable and quality-controlled 3D monitoring at low cost, which can be adopted not only for HTO and may also inspire monitoring schemes of other indoor pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Feng
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Martin Ibesich
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Dieter Hainz
- TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Waidhofer
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Thomas Stummer
- TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Markus Nemetz
- TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan M Welch
- TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mario Villa
- TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Franz Renz
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Georg Steinhauser
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
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