Eco Trees

According to a study made by EPA there are over 1,000 United States locations, including both abandoned and operational sites, that are contaminated with radioactive waste.

Cleaning radioactive metal contamination is challenging and sometimes impossible. But now, Judy Wall, a University of Missouri biochemistry professor thinks she has found the solution in bacterium called Desulfovibrio vulgaris. It can be founded in soil that metabolizes radioactive and heavy metals. The bacteria prompt an electron transfer that can turn uranium into the mineral uraninite, which will sink in water. “So if you’re not going to drink it from your faucet, you can be protected from consuming [the uraninite],” Wall says.

The researchers are now trying to determine how much oxygen the bacteria can withstand and what stimulates its growth, and what happens to the precipitated metals over time. This is an amazing discovery which will help a lot our environment, thanks again Judy Wall !

[Original Source: Discovery]