Assessing the Potential of Phytoremediation at a Site in the U.K. Contaminated with 137Cs

Mudiganti, Arun; Willey, Neil; Hall, Sue; Mudigantia, Arun

Abstract

Spinacia oleracea L. cv. 'Bloomsdale', Beta vulgaris L. cv. 'Flavescens', Brassica juncea L. 'OB825', and Helianthus annuus L. cv. 'Oranges and Lemons' were grown for 8 weeks at a site contaminated with 137Cs at Bradwell Nuclear Power Station, UK. The site was a trench approximately 1.5 m deep, 2 m wide, and 100 m long in 'made ground' consisting of alluvium with traces of illites, kaolinites, and smectites. 137Cs activity concentration was measured in individual plants after 8 weeks growth and the soil in which they grew. The biomass produced and total 137Cs removed to shoots differed significantly between species but 137Cs activity concentrations and Transfer Factors (TFs) did not. B. vulgaris produced the most biomass and removed the greatest amount of 137Cs. For all plants, and within each taxon, plants growing at low soil 137Cs activity concentrations had significantly greater TFs than those growing at high soil 137Cs activity concentrations. It is concluded that selecting plant taxa suited to a particular site can be an effective way of improving phytoremediation rates, that there is much scope for adjusting harvesting intervals to 8 weeks or less without affecting TFs, and that estimates of time taken for 137Cs removal by phytoremediation should consider that TFs may increase as soil concentrations decrease. With refinements in methodology, phytoremediation has the potential to contribute significantly to decontamination of the site at Bradwell.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2001
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2013
• Journal: International Journal of Phytoremediation
• Print ISSN: 1522-6514
• Electronic ISSN: 1549-7879
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 321-333
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15226510108500062
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1092188
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15226510108500062
• Contract Date: Nov 15, 2016