60+ Years of nuclear power generation has led to a significant legacy of radioactively contaminated land at a number of nuclear licenced “mega sites” around the world. The safe management and remediation of these sites is key to ensuring there environmental stewardship in the long term. Bioremediation utilizes a variety of microbially mediated processes such as, enzymatically driven metal reduction or biominerialisation, to sequester radioactive contaminants from the subsurface limiting their migration through the geosphere. Additionally, some of these process can provide environmentally stable sinks for radioactive contaminants, through formation of highly insoluble mineral phases such as calcium phosphates and carbonates, which can incorporate a range of radionuclides into their structure. Bioremediation options have been considered and deployed in preference to conventional remediation techniques at a number of nuclear “mega” sites. Here, we review the applications of bioremediation technologies at three key nuclear licenced sites; Rifle and Hanford, USA and Sellafield, UK, in the remediation of radioactively contaminated land.

1. Introduction and Methods for Bioremediation
2. Case Study 1-Rifle, USA
3. Case Study 2-Hanford, USA
4. Case Study 3-Sellafield, UK
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements

• Callum Robinson(Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom)
• Matthew White-Pettigrew(Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom)
• Samuel Shaw(Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom)
• Katherine Morris(Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom)
• James Graham(National Nuclear Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, Cumbria, CA20 1PG, United Kingdom)
• Jonathan R. Lloyd(Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom) Corresponding Author