Publication
Reference
Ouaksel Amazigh, Carboni Andrea, Slomberg Danielle, Vidal Vladimir, Proux Olivier, Santaella Catherine, Brousset Lenka, Angeletti Bernard, Thiéry Alain, Rose Jérome, Auffan Melanie (2025). Behavior and fate of ITER-like tungsten nanoparticles in freshwater ecosystems produced during operation and maintenance. J. Hazard. Mater., 488, 137201.
Names
  • Amazigh Ouaksel
  • Andrea Carboni
  • Danielle Slomberg
  • Vladimir Vidal
  • Olivier Proux
  • Catherine Santaella
  • Lenka Brousset
  • Bernard Angeletti
  • Alain Thiéry
  • Jérome Rose
  • Melanie Auffan
Article and keywords
Title
Behavior and fate of ITER-like tungsten nanoparticles in freshwater ecosystems produced during operation and maintenance
Abstract
Within the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) an international project building a magnetic confinement device to achieve fusion as a sustainable energy source, tungsten (W) is planned to serve as a plasma-facing component (PFC) in the tokamak, a magnetic confinement device used to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion power. Post plasma-W interactions, submicron tungsten particles can be released. This study investigated the exposure of lentic freshwater ecosystems to ITER-like tungsten nanoparticles in indoor aquatic mesocosms. Monitoring included tungsten (bio)distribution, (bio)transformation, speciation, and impacts following a relevant exposure scenario (chronic, medium-term, low-dose contamination). Additionally, mechanistic studies using a combination of microfluidic cells and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) provided a time-resolved understanding of tungsten's oxidative dissolution in freshwater. Following contamination, tungsten persisted in the water column (over 90 %), showing significant (∼40 %) and rapid (< 7 days) oxidation-dissolution and polymerization. This led to significant exposure of planktonic niches, strong affinity of polymeric tungsten species for aquatic vegetation, and potential transfer to higher trophic levels like aquatic snails. Over five weeks, the bio-physicochemical parameters of the mesocosms remained stable, and no acute impacts were observed on micro- and macro-organisms.
Keywords
ITER-like tungsten nanoparticles, Freshwater ecosystems, Indoor aquatic mesocosms, Microfluidic cell-XAS combination, Exposure assessment
Content
spectral data, sample
Year
2025
Journal
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Volume
488
Pages
137201
Document type
article
Publication state
published
Doi
10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137201
Identifiers