Immobilization of U, Np, Pu, and Am on Host Rocks of Sandy Aquifers after Microbial Biofouling

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Abstract

Understanding the interactions between microorganisms and actinides is essential for predicting the longterm behavior of radioactive contaminants in subsurface environments. This study examines the microbial processes that contribute to the immobilization of uranium, neptunium, plutonium, and americium in sandstones from the upper and lower aquifers surrounding a mothballed liquid radioactive waste (LRW) reservoir and the LRW storage facility of the Siberian Chemical Plant (SCP). Groundwater from these sites, enriched in nitrate ions and actinides, harbored diverse microbial communities capable of nitrate, sulfate, and iron reduction. Their metabolic activity, likely stimulated by nitrate inputs from the wastes, can drive local redox conditions toward strongly reducing states. Such conditions promote the transformation of actinides into poorly soluble reduced forms — Np(OH)4 and NpO2 for neptunium, Pu(OH)4 and PuO2 for plutonium, and uraninite or mixed uranium oxides. In parallel, microbial sulfate reduction facilitates the precipitation of ferruginous sulfides, which serves as a key biogeochemical sink for uranium on mineral surfaces. Biofilm formation on aquifer rock particles further enhances the retention of actinides. Together, these processes may establish a reducing sorption–precipitation barrier in situ near LRW storage sites. The results highlight the central role of microbially mediated redox transformations in controlling actinide mobility and provide a scientific foundation for the development of engineered biogeochemical barriers to mitigate actinide migration in subsurface environments at the SCP site.

About the authors

I. Yu. Myasnikov

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2091-821X
Moscow, Russia

G. D. Artemyev

Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry

Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8018-6287
Moscow, Russia

A. V. Safonov

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6920-4659
Moscow, Russia

M. B. Popova

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0009-0007-5888-7010
Moscow, Russia

I. E. Kazinskaya

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0009-0004-3489-3414
Moscow, Russia

A. P. Novikov

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry

Author for correspondence.
Email: myasnikov@geokhi.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2955-6876
Moscow, Russia

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