Radiotracer Imaging of Sediment Columns

Nuclear medical PET and SPECT cameras routinely image radioactivity concentration of gamma ray emitting isotopes (PET - 511 keV; SPECT - 75-300 keV). We have used nuclear medical imaging technology to study contaminant transport in sediment columns. Specifically, we use Tc-99m (T1/2 = 6 h, Eγ = 140 keV) and a SPECT camera to image the bacteria mediated reduction of pertechnetate, [Tc(VII)O4]- + Fe(II) → Tc(IV)O2 + Fe(III). A 45 mL bolus of Tc-99m (32 mCi) labeled sodium pertechnetate was infused into a column (35cm x 10cm Ø) containing uranium-contaminated subsurface sediment from the Rifle, CO site. A flow rate of 1.25 ml/min of artificial groundwater was maintained in the column. Using a GE Millennium VG camera, we imaged the column for 12 hours, acquiring 44 frames. As the microbes in the sediment were inactive, we expected most of the iron to be Fe(III). The images were consistent with this hypothesis, and the Tc-99m pertechnetate acted like a conservative tracer. Virtually no binding of the Tc-99m was observed, and while the bolus of activity propagated fairly uniformly through the column, some inhomogeneity attributed to sediment packing was observed. We expect that after augmentation by acetate, the bacteria will metabolically reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II), leading to significant Tc-99m binding. Imaging sediment columns using nuclear medicine techniques has many attractive features. Trace quantities of the radiolabeled compounds are used (micro- to nano- molar) and the half-lives of many of these tracers are short (<1 day). This allows multiple measurements to be made on the same column and thus the sediment biology to be monitored non-invasively over time (i.e. after an augmentation has been introduced) and minimizes long-lived radioactive waste. Different parameters can be measured, depending on the tracer type and delivery. A constant infusion of a conservative tracer, such as the positron emitter Br-76 (T1/2= 16.2 hr), measures the exclusion fraction (as a function of position in the column), while a bolus maps the flow velocity as a function of position. A tracer that interacts chemically with the contents of the column (e.g., [99m-Tc(VII)O4]- reduced to 99m-TcO2 by Fe(II) ) yields a map of the chemical environment (e.g., the distribution of Fe(II)). Image of Tc-99m distribution in a column containing Rifle sediment at four times.