Removal of radioactive material from polluted soil by the cyanobacterium Nostoc commune

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24780321
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Boundary agriculture
• Research Institution: Iwaki Meisei University
• Principal Investigator: SASAKI Hideaki いわき明星大学, 科学技術学部, 准教授 (30405998)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: イシクラゲ / ラン藻 / 放射性セシウム / 除去

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident released large amounts of radioactive substances into the environment. Removal of radioactive material from the environment is an urgent problem, and soil purification using plants is being considered. In this study, we investigated the ability of seed plant species and a cyanobacterium to accumulate radioactive material. The plants did not accumulate radioactive material at high levels, but high accumulation was observed in the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc commune. In Nihonmatu City, Fukushima Prefecture, N. commune accumulated 415,000 Bq/kg dry weight Cs-134 and 607,000 Bq/kg dry weight Cs-137. The concentration of cesium in N. commune tended to be high in areas where soil radioactivity was high. A cultivation experiment confirmed that N. commune absorbed radioactive cesium from polluted soil. These data demonstrated that radiological absorption using N. commune might be suitable for decontaminating polluted soil.

Free Research Field

藻類学