Newly discovered organisms to help clean up nuclear waste
Now, scientists in France have reported a new autotrophic green microalgae called Coccomyxa actinabiotis nov. sp., isolated from a radioactive nuclear site, which is extremely radioresistant (most “normal” organisms are killed by the radioactivity) and strongly accumulates radionuclides, including 238U, 137Cs, 110mAg, 60Co, 54Mn, 65Zn and 14C. In 1 hour, the microalga was as effective as the conventional physico-chemical ion-exchangers to purify nuclear effluents. It could be used to complement existing decontamination protocols in industry and also for the clean-up of accidentally contaminated water.
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