Technetium: A toxic waste product of the nuclear fuel cycle: Effects on soybean growth and development

Technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) is formed in significant amounts (6.2% fission yield) during fission in both nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs. The effects of technetium on soybeans (Glycine max) were studied in relation to (a) cytochemical events in the apical meristems of germinating seedlings; (b) growth responses to 0, 0.04, 0.2, 1.0, 5.0, and 20.0 ppm Tc; (c) growth responses to varying levels of Tc after a prior 5-day germination on Tc-free media, and (d) response to Tc in the presence of added manganese.By 20 days, reductions in growth were evident at all levels of Tc except 0.04 ppm (Experiment 2). Root growth was most severely affected, and seedling abnormality at 20 ppm was fivefold greater than that of the controls. The effect of 20 ppm Tc was evident at 10 days when the accumulated absorption dose was approximately 25 rads. The first evidence of damage at this dose was a delay in the initiation of the first trifoliate leaf. The shoot meristem size was 1.2-fold smaller than that of the control; however, there was no cytological evidence of radiation-induced damage. Observation of mitotic figures did not reveal any chromosome aberrations, micronuclei, or chromosome bridges. The lowest level of Tc showing toxicity was 0.2 ppm which resulted in a 31% reduction in growth at 20 days. The accumulated dose was 0.5 rad (0.025 rad/day) and thus it seems unlikely that the rapid inhibition of growth and development is due to radiological toxicity. It is quite probable that the growth effects are due to chemical toxicity possibly due to nutrient competition and/or substitution in uptake or metabolism. However, extremely low doses of radiation have been shown to delay the onset of DNA synthesis (possibly by membrane effects) inTradescantia and until the actual mechanism of Tc inhibition is determined a radiation effect cannot be totally ruled out.This research was partially supported by ERDA Contract EY-76-S-02-4139     

ESTIMATING REGIONAL SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT WITH A SIMPLE SIMULATION MODEL1

A simple simulation model designed to monitor snow-packs of the central Sierra Nevada is described. The model estimates average snow water equivalent for rectangular subregions in the area. Static subregion characteristics, daily precipitation and mean and minimum air temperatures measured at three index stations are the only needed input values. A water balance technique simulates daily snowpack changes in each subregion. Reasonable basinwide water equivalent values are produced. The procedure should be useful for estimating snow water distribution in large mountainous watersheds.     

Immobilization of cesium-137 and uranium in contaminated sediments using soil amendments

Batch and dynamic leaching methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of hydroxyapatite (HA), illite, and zeolite, alone and in combination, as soil additives for reducing the migration of cesium-137 (137Cs+) and uranium (U) from contaminated sediments. Amendment treatments ranging from 0 to 50 g kg(-1) were added to the sediment and equilibrated in 0.001 M CaCl2. After equilibration, the treatment supernatants were analyzed for 137Cs+, U, PO4, and other metals. The residual sediments were then extracted overnight using one of the following: 1.0 M NH4Cl, 0.5 M CaCl2, or the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) extractant. Cesium was strongly sorbed to the contaminated sediments, presumably due to interlayer fixation within native illitic clays. In fact, 137Cs+ was below detection limits in the initial equilibration solutions, the CaCl2 extract, and the TCLP solution, regardless of amendment. Extractants selective for interlayer cations (1.0 M NH4Cl) were necessary to extract measurable levels of 137Cs+. Addition of illitic clays further reduced Cs+ extractability, even when subjected to the aggressive extractants. Zeolite, however, was ineffective in reducing Cs+ mobility when subjected to the aggressive extractants. Hydroxyapatite was less effective than illite at reducing NH4+-extractable Cs+. Hydroxyapatite, and mixtures of HA with illite or zeolite, were highly effective in reducing U extractability in both batch and leaching tests. Uranium immobilization by HA was rapid with similar final U concentrations observed for equilibration times ranging from 1 h to 30 d. The current results demonstrate the effectiveness of soil amendments in reducing the mobility of U and Cs+, which makes in-place immobilization an effective remediation alternative.     

WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST1

ABSTRACT. The water resources manager, concerned with providing for citizen needs for water in all its varied aspects, is obliged to consider the public interest in his decision making. But the public interest, although inferring the superiority of public over purely private interests, is more of a concept of political ethics than an operational objective. Recent attacks on water resources developments place in question just how responsive the water resources manager has been to the public at large during the planning process. The recent broadening of planning objectives beyond economic efficiency to include greater attention to social goals is an encouraging development. Efforts should be expanded toward greater citizen participation and more attention should be given to sampling surveys to determine citizen attitudes on water resources proposals. In the last analysis, the decision-making process must combine the expertise of the water resources manager and the participation of the people through the political process.     

Effect of Agave attenuata extracts on detoxification enzymes of Biomphlaria alexandrina

The toxicity and rising costs of synthetic molluscicides have led to interest in compounds derived from locally growing plants that can be used as molluscicides. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of extracts of some Egyptian plants having lethal effect on snails of medical importance (Biomphlaria alexandrina) as well as on antioxidant and glutathione detoxification enzymes. Ethanolic extracts of locally growing plants Agave attenuata, Agave sislana, Phytolaca dodecandra and Euphorbia spllendens were applied as a contact poison to B. alexandrina, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. The LC₅₀ of A. attenuata, A. sislana, P. dodecandra and E. spllendens are 82, 101, 98 and 98 mg/L, respectively. Glutathione and the enzymes involved in protection of the snail from reactive oxygen species namely, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase, catalase, gamma glutamyl transferase increased in the survival snails exposed to high concentrations of A. attenuata. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase indirectly affecting glutathione reductase and the oxidation, reduction of glutathione significantly decreased in snails exposed to A. attenuata extracts. Superoxide dismutase level tend to decrease in snails exposed to A. attenuata of action. In conclusion A. attenuata is preferable when compared with synthetic molluscicides. The enzymes involved directly or indirectly in protection mechanism of the snail against A. attenuata are mainly responsible for snails survival.     

Biogeochemistry of fluoride in a plant-solution system

Fluoride (F-) pollutants can harm plants and the animals feeding on them. However, it is largely unknown how complexing and chelating agents affect F bioavailability. Two studies were conducted that measured F- bioavailability and uptake by rice (Oryza sativa L.). In the first study, rice was grown in solution culture (pH 5.0) with 0, 2, or 4 mM F- as KF to compare the interaction of F- with humic acid (HA) and with a conventional chelating agent, N-hydroxyethylenthylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA). In the second study, F was supplied at 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mM KF with an additional 2 mM F- treatment containing solution Ca at 2x (2 mM Ca) the level used in the first study, to test the effect added Ca had on F- availability and uptake. Total biomass was greatest with HEDTA and F- < 1 mM. Leaf and stem F concentrations increased exponentially as solution F- increased linearly, with nearly no F partitioning into the seed. Results suggest that F was taken up as HF0 while F- uptake was likely restricted. Additionally, F- competed with HA for Ca, thus preventing the formation of Ca-HA flocculents. The addition of soluble Ca resulted in the precipitation of CaF2 solids on the root surface, as determined by tissue analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.     

Vegetation stress detection through chlorophyll a + b estimation and fluorescence effects on hyperspectral imagery

Physical principles applied to remote sensing data are key to successfully quantifying vegetation physiological condition from the study of the light interaction with the canopy under observation. We used the fluorescence-reflectance-transmittance (FRT) and PROSPECT leaf models to simulate reflectance as a function of leaf biochemical and fluorescence variables. A series of laboratory measurements of spectral reflectance at leaf and canopy levels and a modeling study were conducted, demonstrating that effects of chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) can be detected by remote sensing. The coupled FRT and PROSPECT model enabled CF and chlorophyll a + b (Ca + b) content to be estimated by inversion. Laboratory measurements of leaf reflectance (r) and transmittance (t) from leaves with constant Ca + b allowed the study of CF effects on specific fluorescence-sensitive indices calculated in the Photosystem I (PS-I) and Photosystem II (PS-II) optical region, such as the curvature index [CUR; (R675.R690)/R2(683)]. Dark-adapted and steady-state fluorescence measurements, such as the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence (Fv/Fm), steady state maximal fluorescence (F'm), steady state fluorescence (Ft), and the effective quantum yield (delta F/F'm) are accurately estimated by inverting the FRT-PROSPECT model. A double peak in the derivative reflectance (DR) was related to increased CF and Ca + b concentration. These results were consistent with imagery collected with a compact airborne spectrographic imager (CASI) sensor from sites of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall) of high and low stress conditions, showing a double peak on canopy derivative reflectance in the red-edge spectral region. We developed a derivative chlorophyll index (DCI; calculated as D705/D722), a function of the combined effects of CF and Ca + b content, and used it to detect vegetation stress.