Iodine and microbial interactions in an organic soil

Iodine-129 in groundwater discharging from a geological disposal vault could accumulate in wetlands by chemical sorption onto low pH, highly organic solid surfaces or by direct or indirect microbial processes. Previous work indicated that saturation of anion sorption sites, microbial toxicity, or swamping of the I reduction/oxidation reaction decreased the retention of a wetland sphagnum for iodine with increased iodine porewater concentrations. Bog water and peat of an iodine-rich bog were studied to elucidate the role of micro-organisms in the retention and accumulation of iodine in a temperate wetland. (author)