Biologically induced Po emission from fresh water.

Behavior of Po in fresh waters was examined in laboratory culture experiments using fresh water collected from a small pool, Xi river and Xiqing lake, showing formation of volatile Po compounds followed by emission to air. Addition of tryptone to the fresh water cultures increased the emission of Po considerably along with a growth of microorganisms, suggesting a connection of chemoheterotrophs to Po emission. Participation of photoautotrophs was also considered because Po emission was increased when NaHCO3 was added to the fresh water cultures. The emission behavior of Po and S in these experiments appeared in different ways. The quantity of Po emitted was comparable to the previous culture experiments (Momoshima, Song, Osaki & Maeda, Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 2956-2960, 2001) in which artificial culture medium containing 3% NaCl was used and inoculated with sea sediment extract. The biological support for Po emission, thus, would be a general phenomenon in fresh water as well as a seawater environment and is possibly a source for atmospheric Po.