Team:Peking/HP/311
Field Research
Based on survey documentation, ion exchange, flocculation-settling and phytoremediation are mostly used to treat uranium contamination at the present. However, the Peking iGEM 2016 team wondered whether these methods truly have satisfactory operability and practicability in the field.
The Hunan Nuclear Geology 311 Brigade (www.yy311.cn) is a geological exploration unit with Grade A qualification in Hunan Province of China. The institution has discovered 9 uranium ore deposits. In addition, a number of projects concerning the geological environment of mines have been managed by this institution.
To acquire field data and improve our project, we got in touch with 311 Brigade and asked them questions about current treatment methods applied to uranium contamination.
Soon after, they replied to us and were glad to help. We were invited to visit their construction site to do field research in Hunan Province this summer.
Results
Surprisingly, we found that the methods they used to treat uranium contamination around ore-fields were not very complex. In three projects, Pangongtan, Xiaoganxi and Shanglongyan (Chinese names of uranium ore deposits), the steps they followed were sealing the holes which were positive for radiation with cement, filling the ground with fresh soil, and finally growing appropriate plants on the site.
According to the starting and completion dates of the three treatment projects, we could tell that the method is time-consuming (~3 months) and comparatively inefficient (<80 %). Also, the high amount of labor needed and the associated costs negatively impact process economics. Based on the attached figures, we could see that the workers were exposed directly to a relatively polluted environment without protective measures which may be harmful to their bodies.
Compared to current treatment options, the method being developed in this project shows great potential advantages. It only takes 2 hours to form a very large protein hydrogel comprised of two monomers: 3A-SUP and 3B, and the efficiency could be up to 90% after optimization. Additionally, uranium remediation using bacteria could be labor-saving and economical.
Discussion
Based on the interview with the manager of 311 Brigade, we learned that the people who live around the mines knew little about uranium contamination or the hazards of uranium, which bolstered our determination to do public education about uranium and the project.
It is unfair to take a part for the whole, but the field research conducted with the kind help of 311 Brigade assured us of tremendous application prospects and great potential for our bio-functional hydrogel.
