Biotechnology of Radioactive Wastes: A General Overview

  • A. J. Francis
Chapter
Part of the NATO ASI Series book series (ASEN2, volume 34)

Abstract

The end of the cold war has not only resulted in the closure of many nuclear and chemical weapons production facilities worldwide but it also left behind a legacy of environmental contamination of monumental proportions. The principal contaminants are the radionuclides, toxic metals, and hazardous organic compounds. It is a major local, regional, and national problem. Remediation and restoration of the contaminated sites have received greater attention as a result of the movement to address global environmental concerns. The cost of remediation of contaminated sites are quite staggering. Consequently, new and innovative physical, chemical, and biological methods are being developed for remediation and long-term management of the waste sites. This chapter, reviews briefly (i) the mechanisms of microbial transformations of radionuclide and toxic metal contaminants and (ii) the promising new and emerging biotechnology for the remediation and restoration of radioactive contaminated sites. More detailed information on specific biotreatment processes is presented in subsequent chapters.

Keywords

Toxic Metal Radioactive Waste Microbial Transformation Tributyl Phosphate Microbial Metabolite 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 1997

Authors and Affiliations

  • A. J. Francis
    • 1
  1. 1.Brookhaven National LaboratoryUptonUSA

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