Phytomanagement of radioactively contaminated sites

The application of nuclear energy and the use of radionuclides for industrial, medical and research purposes have caused significant contamination of certain sites and their environment, which could result in health problems for several centuries if nothing is undertaken to remedy these situations. Except for the close environment of the facility, where decontamination activities may be feasible and affordable, the contamination often extents over a vast area and decontamination would result in considerable amounts of waste. Therefore, more realistic yet efficient remediation options should be searched for of which phytomanagement is among the potential options. The potential role of different phytomanagement options for the remediation of sites contaminated with radionuclides is discussed and illustrated with some examples. The phytomanagement options considered are: phytoextraction (including rhizofiltration), alternative land uses and phytostabilisation. The radionuclides considered are the fission products 137Cs and 90Sr and the natural radionuclides uranium and to some extent radium and thorium.