Elodea Canadensis (Submerged Macrophyte of the Yenisei River) and Actinides: Properties, Accumulation, Regularities and Interactions

Abstract

Radioactive contamination of the Yenisei River bottom and (including the contamination with actinides) is the result of long-term operation of the Mining and Chemical Combine, which manufactures plutonium for weapons. The study considers the behavior of a submerged macrophyte Elodea Canadensis, one of the most widely spread species of aquatic plants in the River Yenisei. The values of the accumulation coefficients obtained for 242Pu, 13100 ± 2100 L·kg-1, were close to the concentration factor for 241Am–17100 ± 4300 L·kg-1, obtained for the Elodea shoots. Studies on the potential adaptation of one of the common aquatic macrophytes Elodea canadensis when immersed in a medium containing actinide. It was found that almost all the studied 241Am and 242Pu do not show a clear external effect on the solid fragments of the plant (cell membranes). Thus, it was shown that Elodea canadensis is tolerant of anthropogenic radio nuclides that differ in nature, physico-chemical properties, etc.