F ATE AND E FFECTS OF U RANIUM AND A RSENIC IN S URFACE
W ATER OF A BANDONED U RANIUM M INES : I NVESTIGATIONS WITH Lemna gibba L.
von
Martin Chizotera Mkandawire
Dissertation
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doctor rerum naturalium
(Dr. rer. nat.)
vorgelegt
der Fakultät Forst-, Geo- und Hydrowissenschaften der Technischen Universität Dresden
Eingereicht am: 1. Juli 2004
Tag der Disputation: 8. Februar 2005
Mitglieder der Promotionskommission
Vorsitzender: Prof. Dr. habil. Franz Makeschin (TU Dresden, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortlehre, Professur für Bodenkunde und Bodenschutz)
Gutachter: Prof. Dr. habil. E. Gert Dudel (TU Dresden, Institut für Allgemeine Ökologie und Umweltschutz, Professur für Allgemeine Ökologie)
Prof. Dr. habil. Broder J. Merkel (TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Professur für Hydrogeologie)
Prof. Dr. habil. Karl-Heinz Feger (TU Dresden, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortlehre, Professur für Standortslehre und Pflanzenernährung)
Mitglieder: Prof. Dr. habil Peter Werner (TU Dresden, Institut für Abfallwirtschaft und Altlasten, Professur für Altlasten)
Prof. Dr. habil Roland Nagel (TU Dresden, Institut für Hydrobiologie, Professur für Ökotoxikologie)
Shaker Verlag Aachen 2005
Berichte aus der Umweltwissenschaft
Martin Chizotera Mkandawire
Fate and Effects of Uranium and Arsenic in Surface Water of Abandoned Uranium Mines:
Investigations with Lemna gibba L.
.
Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.ddb.de.
Zugl.: Dresden, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2005
Copyright Shaker Verlag 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Printed in Germany.
ISBN 3-8322-4062-4 ISSN 0946-7173
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Some chapters or parts of this monograph have been published or in process of being submitted for publication in peer review journals, book chapters or conference proceedings. As a result, some descriptions of methods have been repeated. Reproduction of the papers or use of the published information has been included in this monograph with prior permission from respective publishers.
“Nature does nothing uselessly”
Aristotle (384-322 BCE.)
i
Acknowledgments
I thank my mentor Prof. Dr. E. Gert Dudel for his support and guidance. He brought interesting ideas and questions throughout the research. I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Broder J.
Merkel, for introducing me to geochemical modelling, and Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Feger, for acting as my referee on a number of occasions.
I am indebted to our research group in the Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protections of Dresden University of Technology for both administrative and scientific support.
Special mention goes to Dagmer Bartels for the excellent organisation and administration, Arndt Weiske for the ICP-MS and DOC/TN analyses, Agness Franke, Karin Klinzman and Annet Jost for laboratory assistance. I also thank all field partners and friends, so numerous to mention all, for various assistances during the study. I specially thank colleagues with whom I co-authored publications included in this monograph: Barbara Taubert and E. Gert Dudel of the Prof. Dudel Research Group in the Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protections;
and, Yelena Lyubun, Paul Kosterin, and Dmitry Tychnin of the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences (IBPPM RAS). I also thank respective publishers who have kindely permitted reporduction or used of the the publication in this book. I thank Prof. Dr. Egon Koehler at Arboretum of Humboldt University in Berlin for kindly providing Lemna gibba L. strain used in laboratory investigations.
I am grateful to the BMBF (Germany Ministry of Education and Research) for funding the research through project grant No. 02WB0222, and DAAD for the research fellowship and financing publication of this book. I am very grateful to the Gesellschaft von Freunden und Förderern der Technischen Universität Dresden e.V. for supporting my participation in number of conferences where parts of this work were discussed, and financial support that made it possible for me to finish this work.
Last, but not the least, I am very thankful to my wife Msau, and children Chitsanzo and Chimango whose company and love made life outside of academics both relaxing and interesting in Dresden. I acknowledge their support, patience, and understanding during my long hours of working. I pay tribute to our families in Malawi who provided love and support, and always encouraged my love for science and studies.
Dresden, 1.July 2004
Martin Mkandawire.
iii
Contents
Chapter Page
1. General Introduction 1
2. Assignment of Lemna gibba L. (duckweed) bioassay for in situ
ecotoxicity assessment 9
3. Limitations of growth parameters of Lemna gibba in bioassays for assessing PO43- availability, and AsO43- and UO22+ toxicity 25 4. Semicontinuous culture system for Lemna gibba bioassay: functioning
and theory of operation 37
5. Accumulation of uranium in Lemna gibba L. in relation to milieu conditions of tailing water in abandoned uranium mines in Germany 45 6. Accumulation of arsenic in Lemna gibba L. (duckweed) in tailing water
of two abandoned uranium mines in Saxony, Germany 55 7. Toxicity of arsenic species to Lemna gibba L. and influence of phosphate
on arsenic bioavailability 65
8. Capacity of Lemna gibba L. (duckweed) for uranium and arsenic
phytoremediation in mine tailing water 75
9. Resource manipulation in enhancing uranium and arsenic attenuation in tailing water by Lemna gibba L. (duckweed) 87 10. Biosorption capacity and limits in uranium immobilisation by dead and
liveLemna gibba L. biomass 99 11. Uranium attenuation from tailing water by floating macrophyte Lemna
gibba L. 107
12. Accumulation of DOC in Lemna gibba L. culture under varying nutrient
and contaminant loads 113
13. General discussions 119
14. Conclusion and perspectives 131
15. References 135 16. Appendices 157 17. Index 163
