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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,100
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 Fungus Could Be a Fix for Uranium Pollution
#8379799 - 05/08/08 10:14 PM (5 months, 10 hours ago) |
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Fungus Could Be a Fix for Uranium Pollution
May 5, 2008 - sciencemag.org
 Uranium pollution from high-tech armor and munitions is one of the dangerous legacies of the wars in the Balkans and Iraq. But a naturally occurring fungus might help combat the spread of that pollution into local ecosystems. The fungus transforms the uranium into a stable form that shouldn't work its way into the food chain, a new study shows. The findings potentially could help engineers isolate the toxic metal until better ways of cleaning up all but the most heavily contaminated sites can be developed.
Modern warfare has introduced a new and insidious type of pollutant to battlegrounds in the Middle East and Europe: depleted uranium. The compound consists of the nonexplosive uranium-238 that remains after the fissile uranium-235 has been extracted for making nuclear explosives and other purposes, plus a touch of titanium. Depleted uranium's high density makes it extremely useful for armor and munitions. But when shell collides with armor, fine particles scatter, so the military use of depleted uranium has left soil and water tables in battlegrounds polluted. Although less radioactive than natural uranium, the depleted form is nonetheless toxic and as hazardous as lead or mercury.
Researchers at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom examined whether certain natural fungi could help clean up uranium from sites in the Balkans and Iraq. They knew from past studies that some types of fungi can ingest toxic substances without apparent harm. So in laboratory experiments, they fed depleted uranium to so-called mycorrhizal fungi, which usually live in the roots of plants, taking carbon from the plants and furnishing nutrients in return. Within a few months, the team reports tomorrow in Current Biology, the mycorrhizal fungi had surrounded and chemically transformed the depleted uranium to a stable phosphate compound. Because this compound isn't a nutrient, it doesn't work its way into the food chain.
Even better, this transformational ability of fungi "would work for pollution with any--depleted or not--metallic uranium and its corrosion products," says environmental microbiologist and lead author Marina Fomina. "Our findings could also be applied to cleaning up contaminated liquid wastes, metal leaching, and recycling and recovery," she says.
Soil ecologist John Dighton of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, calls the findings "great work" and an important step forward in identifying how fungi can slow the buildup of uranium in the environment. Understanding the role of fungi in radioactive and heavy-metal interactions in the soil is "important from many perspectives," he adds, particularly their impact on human health and the environment.
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 Techno_Raver
Super Mario Bro
 
Registered: 05/05/06
Posts: 256
Loc: The Mushroom Kingdom
Last seen: 17 days, 1 hour
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Re: Fungus Could Be a Fix for Uranium Pollution [Re: veggie]
#8380159 - 05/08/08 11:29 PM (5 months, 9 hours ago) |
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That sounds awesome. Once again its mushrooms to the rescue. We should start growing mushrooms near landfills and chemical spills, to clean the environment.
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Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for anything I say or do. If any of it is illegal, it is to be considered "Total Bullshit!"
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abica
Warlocks'Apprentice
Registered: 04/01/08
Posts: 378
Loc: The River City
Last seen: 1 month, 24 days
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Re: Fungus Could Be a Fix for Uranium Pollution [Re: Techno_Raver]
#8395862 - 05/13/08 09:13 AM (4 months, 27 days ago) |
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Uncle_Rico said: "There is so much information on 'The Shroomery' it is easy to get overwhelmed ... my advice: choose something and do it ... you will learn ... you can adjust .. you will figure out what works best for you and your situation."
No truer words have been spoken IMO.
Here's the story of the poo tub
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unborn
Just figured outI can change myown title
Registered: 10/06/07
Posts: 139
Last seen: 3 days, 18 hours
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Re: Fungus Could Be a Fix for Uranium Pollution [Re: abica]
#8397146 - 05/13/08 02:58 PM (4 months, 26 days ago) |
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Everyone should read Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets if they have not and are interested in this.
Hes a pimp.
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