Prof. Dr Luka Snoj and Dr Anže Jazbec from the Reactor Physics Division, together with Prof. Dr Sonja Lojen and Dr Arne Bratkič from the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Prof. Dr Rok Kostanjšek and Assist. Prof. Dr Tinkara Tinta from the National Institute of Biology, and Dr Nataša Toplak and Simon Koren from Omega d.o.o., published an article in the respected journal International Journal of Radiation Biology The colonization of an irradiated environment: the case of microbial biofilm in a nuclear reactor on microbial biofilm in the pool tank of the TRIGA nuclear reactor.
For several years, operators at the TRIGA reactor had been dealing with biofilm formation, which had to be removed regularly. Through a comprehensive analysis, the researchers determined the composition of the biofilm, monitored changes in microbial communities and examined their relationship with different types of ionising radiation near the reactor core. Based on the findings obtained, biofilm-related issues at the TRIGA reactor have now been resolved.