Kei Sasaki¹, Kaoru Nakamura¹, Kenji Takeno¹, Hidenori Shinkawa¹, Nachiketa Das², Ken Sasaki^1*

Show more
¹ Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food and Agriculture Bio-Recycle, Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin University, Hiroshima, Japan.
² Department of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Ravenshaw University, Odisha, India.
Show less

Abstract: The immobilized photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodobacter shpaeroides SSI (SSI), cultured on porous 2 cm ceramic beads, effectively removed and recovered 20 mg/L of non-radioactive Cs (almost 100%) and Sr (≌50%), after 3 - 5 days of aerobic treatment. Toxic and heavy metals such as Hg, Cr, Pb and As were also removed, almost 100%, after 6days of aerobic treatment. A practical method of removal of radioactivity of 10 - 30 μSv/h, caused mainly by radioactive Cs released from the accident at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on 11th March 2011, from sediment mud and soil in Fukushima, Japan, was also carried out. Using immobilized SSI beads, more than 90% and 42% - 73% of radioactive Cs was removed and recovered from sediment mud and soil, respectively, after 3 - 14 days of aerobic treatment in an outdoor 60 L vessel. The weight and mass of the harvested beads could be reduced by more than 97% after desiccation. This technology of removal and recovery had therefore, considerable advantages over other technologies that demanded very large storage facilities in Fukushima. After removal of radioactivity from polluted soil, vegetables like Komatsuna (Turrip leaves) and Chingensai (Green pakchoi) were cultivated on remediated soil. Safe vegetables grown on these treated soils showed a radioactivity content lower than the recommended limit for edible foods in Japan, i.e. less than <100 Bq/kg. Treatment by SSI beads, therefore, appeared to be a compact and suitable technology that could make significant contributions towards agricultural recovery in radioactively polluted areas of Fukushima.

Keywords: Immobilized Photosynthetic Bacteria, Cs and Sr, Heavy Metals, Removal of Radioactivity, Radioactive Cs, Safe Vegetables

Cite this paper: Sasaki, K. , Nakamura, K. , Takeno, K. , Shinkawa, H. , Das, N. and Sasaki, K. (2015) Removal of Radioactivity from Sediment Mud and Soil and Use for Cultivation of Safe Vegetables in Fukushima, and Removal of Toxic Metals Using Photosynthetic Bacteria. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment, 4, 63-75. doi: 10.4236/jacen.2015.43007.

References

[1]   Ministry of Fish and Agriculture (2011) Removal Technology of Radioactive Materials of Soil for Agriculture (Decontamination Technology). Association of the Technology for Agriculture, Forest and Fish.
http://www.aist.go.jp/aist_j/press_release/pr2011/pr20110831/pr20110831.html

[2]   Sasaki, K., Morikawa , H., Kishibe, T., Takeno, K., Mikami, A., Harada, T. and Ohta, M. (2012) Practical Removal of Radioactivity from Soil in Fukushima Using Immobilized Photosynthetic Bacteria Combined with Anaerobic Digestion and Lactic Acid Fermentation as Pre-Treatment. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 76, 1809-1814. http://dx.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.120440

[3]   Sasaki, K., Morikawa, H., Kishibe, T., Mikami, A., Harada , T. and Ohta, M. (2012) Practical Removal of Radioac- tivity from Sediment Mud in a Swimming Pool in Fukushima, Japan by Immobilized Photosynthetic Bacteria. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 76, 859-862.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.110853

[4]   Sugoh, T. (2012) Cesium Adsorption Effect Using High Polymer Adsorption Materials Such as Crown Ether. The Radioactive Contamination Countermeasures after the Great East Japan Earthquake, NTS Publishers, Tokyo, 161-172.

[5]   Takeshita, K. (2012) Development of a Treatment System for Cesium Polluted Water. The Radioactive Contamination Countermeasures after the Great East Japan Earthquake, NTS Publishers, Tokyo, 173-181.

[6]   Seko, N., Suzuki, S. and Yaita, D. (2012) Adsorption Effects of Cesium by High Polymer Sorbent Such as Crown Ehter. The Radioactive Contamination Countermeasures after the Great East Japan Earthquake, NTS Publishers, Tokyo, 204-211.

[7]   Yamaguchi, D., Furukawa, D., Takasuga, M. and Watanabe, K. (2014) A Magnetic Carbon Sorbent for Radioactive Materials from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. Scientific Reports, 4, 6053.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep06053

[8]   Haselwandter, K. and Berreck, M. (1988) Fungi as Bioindicators of Radio-Cesium Contamination: Pre- and Post- Chernobyl Activities. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 90, 171-174.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0007-1536(88)80085-8

[9]   Avery, S.V., Codd, G.A. and Gadd, G.M. (1991) Cesium Accumulation and Interactions with Other Monovalent Cations in the Cyanobacterium synechocystis PCC 6803. Journal of General Microbiology, 137, 405-413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/00221287-137-2-405

[10]   Tomioka, N., Uchiyama, H. and Yagi, O. (1994) Cesium Accumulation and Growth Characteristics of Rhodococcus erythropolis CS98 and Rhodococcus sp. Strain CS402. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 60, 2227-2231.

[11]   Ohmura, N., Watanabe, Y. and Saiki, H. (1996) Report of Central Research Institute of Electricity. Central Research Institute of Electricity, Tokyo, 1-31.

[12]   Sasaki, K., Hara, C., Takeno, T., Okuhata, H. and Miyasaka, H. (2010) Metals Related to Radionuclides and Heavy Metal Removal Using Photosynthetic Bacteria Immobilized Recovery Type Porous Ceramic. Japanese Journal of Water Treatment Biology, 46, 119-127.

[13]   Sasaki, K., Morikawa, H., Kishibe, T., Takeno, K., Mikami, A., Harada, T. and Ohta, M. (2012) Simultaneous Removal of Cesium and Strontium Using a Photosynthetic Bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides SSI Immobilized on Porous Ceramic Made from Waste Glass. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 4, 6-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/abb.2013.41002

[14]   Watanabe, M., Kawahara, K., Sasaki, K. and Noparatnaraporn, N. (2003) Biosorption of Cadmium Ions Using Photosynthetic Bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides S and a Marine Photosynthetic Bacterium, Rhodovulum sp. and Their Biosorption Kinetics. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 95, 374-378.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1389-1723(03)80070-1

[15]   Jasper, P. (1978) Potassium Transport System of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata. Journal of Bacteriology, 133, 1314- 1322.

[16]   Sasaki, K. and Takeno, K. (2014) Practical Decontamination of Radioactive Polluted Soil by Photosynthetic Bacteria and Recycle Use for Agriculture. Seibutu-Kougaku, 92, 13-15.

[17]   Kobayashi, T. (2012) Suppressive Effects of Radioactive Cesium Incorporation during Vegetable Cultivation by Zeolite Addition, Information of Supporting Technologies Related to Radioactive Pollution. Division of Crop and Gardening, Agricultural Complex Center of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

[18]   Saitoh, M. (2012) Radioactive Cesium Incorporation of Vegetables Was Suppressed by the Increase of Potassium, Information of Supporting Technologies Related to Radioactive Pollution. Division of Crop and Gardening, Agricultural Complex Center of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.