Fungi May Help With Asbestos Cleanups

Makarand writes "Asbestos cleanups are tricky as disturbed soil can disperse and make asbestos fibers airborne. Now scientists are developing bioremediation measures that involve allowing iron-gathering fungi to grow on asbestos contaminated soil and render the asbestos harmless according to this article in Nature. The toxicity of asbestos is partly due to its iron content and microorganisms can help by removing it from the asbestos. Also, the fungi bind asbestos fibers into a web making it difficult for them to become airborne. Identifying the asbestos-attacking genes and introducing them into other microorganisms may be the next step in fighing asbestos pollution."

Comments

Re:Good news

[barakn]

It is incorrect to assume "that asbestos problems had been mostly solved by removing it from all buildings, etc." Unfortunately, asbestos will be around for a long time. Consider the case of Libby, MT. For years this town's residents mined vermiculite contaminated with tremolite, a very hazardous form of asbestos. This vermiculite was used as insulation, potting soil, came home to families on miners' clothing, etc., and so almost the entire town is now contaminated. Rates of rare cancers have sky-rocketed. Also consider the World Trade Center's asbestos. Luckily it was only used on the first 40 floors of the North tower and half of it was later removed, but still the dust that coated lower Manhattan was contaminated with the stuff. Controversy still swirls around issues of the cleanup and its costs.

Re:Good news

[Radish03]

although I thought that asbestos problems had been mostly solved by removing it from all buildings, etc

My High School was built in 1953, and the asbestos in it have never been removed. In fact, a few days ago I went wandering with a stage crew friend and she showed me all the neat places like up above the auditorium ceiling (200 or so feet above the ground, much fun) and there were all sorts of comforting "DANGER: ASBESTOS" signs up there. And its not like this area is shut off from the rest of the school; just walk through a doorway, climb up two ladders and you're there. I know that a couple rooms in this area of the school have been closed off and students told they are definitly not allowed to be there any more due to the asbestos in the air, though. But yeah, asbestos is definitly still a problem, even in public buildings. (and schools!)

If there is no "immediate danger" with the asbestos, they don't go about removing it from buildings. It is left there until they have to remove it, which I think my school is (finally) going to do pretty soon when the start rennovating.

Re:Good news

[gene_tailor]

Very good point-- getting asbestos out of buildings isn't the only problem to deal with here. Asbestos is a naturally occuring mineral that is fairly common in certain places, for example in Montana and central California. When asbestos was being used in construction and many other products (most heavily in 1940's to 70's) it was mined extensively. The tailings from such mines are pretty hazardous.

Here's another example of a cleanup site, the Coalinga Mine Superfund Site, at the EPA site , an area that is, fortunately, much more sparsely populated than Libby, MT. It's interesting to note that major aspects of the cleanup were to tear the buildings down then bury all the debris, divert a stream away from the tailings pile, and put up a fence.... I'm sure there are much worse sites but it sure sounds like "file it and forget about it" to me. Let's get some fungi in there to actually chemically break down some of that asbestos.