If researchers can duplicate in the field what they have done in the lab, uranium that contaminates soil and water could be immobilized at a fraction of the cost of other methods of decontamination. The goal of Matthew Fields and other researchers in ORNL's Environmental Sciences Division and at Stanford University was first to identify what kind of bacteria, or bugs, inhabit the water and soil of a Y-12 National Security Complex site contaminated with uranium. Next, they determined which bacteria could immobilize iron and uranium by forming insoluble complexes. By increasing the activity of the bacteria with this desired trait, researchers hope to dramatically reduce the chances of uranium-contaminated water leaving the site. Researchers expect this approach to have applications at many sites that are contaminated with uranium, chromium or technetium.
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