RE: Bacteria in nuclear reactors

["Paul Wojtaszek" <Paul.Wojtaszek@UCHSC.edu>]

                      RE: Bacteria in nuclear reactors             5/11/98

I did my undergraduate research on DNA repair in Deinococcus radiodurans
(formerly Micrococcus radiodurans) with Alan Bruce at SUNY at Buffalo, who
studied them rather intensely at the time. I don't remember the LD50 for gamma
rays, but I think it could take a 1.0 to 1.5 megarad dose and suffer little
lethality or mutagenesis. This translated into about 100 double strand breaks
on the chromosome, as I recall. However, as has been pointed out, it would
probably not respond well to the heat and lack of food in moderator water.

Fascinating organism, though. For further reading, J.R. Battista of L.S.U. has
a nice review article in Annual Review of Microbiology, Vol. 51, p. 203, 1997,
available at your local university library.

Paul A. Wojtaszek, Ph.D.
Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Box C-281, Renal Medicine
4200 East 9th Avenue
Denver, CO 80262

303-315-6723
303-315-4852 FAX

Paul.Wojtaszek@UCHSC.edu

Post-docs laugh at disclaimers.
--------------------------------------
Date: 5/11/98 2:59 PM
To: Paul Wojtaszek
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu

     1.  We expect anaerobic bacteria to survive in the WIPP .
     2.   A biologist colleague of mine tells me that there is a bacteria 
     genus called "radiodurans" which can survive significant doses.
     
     Clearly only my own opinion
     
     Ruth Weiner
     Sandia National Laboratories
     505-844-4791
     rfweine@sandia.gov


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Bacteria in Nuclear Reactors
Author:  rgmorgan@lanl.gov at hubsmtp
Date:    5/11/98 12:54 PM


Hi folks,
In the May/June issue of The Planetary Report (a publication for the 
members of the Planetary Society, a space-exploration advocacy group which 
is not noticeably [so far] an anti-nuc group.  See their web site at 
http://www.planetary.org), Christopher Chyba said (in part) "bacteria have 
adapted to survive the levels of radiation common in the cooling water of 
nuclear reactors."
     
I'd be a bit surprised to learn that bacteria could survive in the primary 
or secondary loops of a power reactor...but there's a bunch of other 
possibilities.  Does anyone know anything about bacteria in reactor cooling 
water?
Thanx, ron
       ************************************** 
       Ron Morgan <rgmorgan@lanl.gov>
       Operational Health Physics (ESH-1)
       Los Alamos National Laboratory
       MS E-503, Los Alamos New Mexico, 87545 (USA) 
       Phone (505) 665-7843
       Fax   (505) 667-1009
       Voice pager 104-1787
     
      mailto:rgmorgan@lanl.gov
     
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