Slashdot Mirror
Bacteria Live Happily in Nuclear Waste
unassimilatible writes "Scientists studying the soil beneath a leaking Hanford nuclear waste storage tank have discovered more than 100 species of bacteria living in a toxic, radioactive environment that most would have thought inhospitable to all forms of life, reports the Seattle PI. For most living creatures, the nuclear and chemical waste in the underground storage tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the deadliest mixture of toxins and radioactive muck on the planet. For certain bacteria, however, this toxic goop left over from decades of nuclear weapons production appears to be just a second home. 'Scientifically, it's pretty interesting stuff,' said a microbiologist at the lab. 'The material in the tank is self-boiling and quite hot, so it's not just radioactive and harsh chemicals but also in extreme heat.' The discovery eventually could help researchers better understand how microorganisms can survive severe contaminants -- and how to use the bacteria to help clean up toxic environments. Hanford was an important site for the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb during World War II. For 40 years, it processed plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Today, work there centers on a $50 billion to $60 billion cleanup, to be finished by 2035. See also, the related AP story."
We're terribly sorry about all this.
-- The Scientists
...welcome our new radioactive bacteria overlords!
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
Worms live in peoples asses, what makes people think things cant survive in radioactive dirt?
you insensative clod!
That's right. All your base.
Just look at most frat houses around the US and you will find life that shouldn't exist...
If I point out that you are incorrect, making me a foe does not make you any more correct.
how do you know those bacteria are happy?
maybe they're really depressed to have to live there, but can't afford to move someplace else?
next time I spot a news item about bacteria living in an odd environment, I'll submit it to slashdot, "Bacteria struggling to make ends meet in [weird environment], suffer from overpopulation; Joe Bacterium comments: "What can you do, it's part of our culture."
Despite the bacteria's ability to ive in magma vents or in nuclear waste, I'm sure the AMD chips run too hot for them to live in there.