Eco Factor: Bacterium converts heavy metals in water into inert substances.
According to the EPA there are more than 1000 sites around the United States that are contaminated with radioactive waste. While cleaning radioactive waste is challenging and often impossible, Judy Wall, a researcher at the University of Missouri thinks she has an answer in bacterium called Desulfovibrio vulgaris.
The bacterium is usually found in soil that metabolizes radioactive and heavy metals. The bacteria prompt an electron transfer that turns uranium into mineral uraninite, which is nearly insoluble and hence sinks in water. So even if you’re not going to drink it from your faucet, you can be protected from consuming it in any way.
Scientists are now trying to determine the amount of oxygen that the bacteria can withstand and what stimulates its growth and what happens to the precipitated metals over time.
Via: Discovery
