BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING AND ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY OF PLUTONIUM RELEVANT TO LONG-TERM STEWARDSHIP OF DOE SITES

Pu is generally considered to be relatively immobile in the terrestrial environment, with the exception of transport via airborne and erosion mechanisms. More recently the transport of colloidal forms of Pu is being studied as a mobilization pathway from subsurface contaminated soils and sediments. The overall objective of this research is to understand the biogeochemical cycling of Pu in environments of interest to long-term DOE stewardship issues. Microbial processes are central to the immobilization of Pu species, through the metabolism of organically complexed Pu species and Pu associated with extracellular carrier phases and the creation of environments favorable for retardation of Pu transport