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.