Phytoremediation and Reclamation of Soils Contaminated with Radionuclides

As a result of nuclear testing and nuclear reactor accidents, large areas of land have become contaminated with low concentrations of radionuclides. Removal, transport and treatment of large volumes of soil may be logistically difficult and prohibitively costly. Using plants to remove low concentrations of radionuclides from soil in situ is expected to be less expensive than mechanical, physical or chemical methods, particularly for treatment of large areas. Phytoremediation is applicable to a wide range of terrestrial environments and plants can be selected for given soil and climatic conditions. Phytoremediation of contaminated sites should also leave treated sites amenable to subsequent reclamation efforts. The points to consider for initial phytoremediation and subsequent reclamation of contaminated soils include:enhancement of plant accumulation of radionuclides by addition of mycorrhizal or bacterial inocula, chelating agents or organic amendments, periodic harvests to recover or dispose of radionuclides in the ashed plant materials minimization of potential environmental effects on non-target organisms and replacement or augmentation of the initial remediating species with a complex plant community.