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Bacteria Used To Make Radioactive Metals Inert

Serenissima writes "Researcher Judy Wall is experimenting with bacteria that can cleanse the radioactivity from toxic areas by rendering the heavy metals into non-toxic, inert versions. The technology is not without its flaws (the bacteria can't exist in an oxygenated environment yet), but it does have the potential to cleanse some of the world's hazardous sites. From the article: 'The bacteria Wall is studying are bio-corrosives and can change the solubility of heavy metals. They can take uranium and convert it to uraninite, a nearly insoluble substance.'"

2 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Look out, Radioactive Man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    can it turn a nigger white? because even a pile of dog shit eventually turns white and stops stinking (it really does)

  2. Re:Chemically inert, they mean by Em+Emalb · · Score: -1, Troll

    They don't appear to be claiming that they have a biological process that can change the half-life of a Plutonium atom by eating it in a clever way, though the headline-writer may have thought that.

    Well, that's the issue. I've been researching this for about 2.4 centuries now and that means I have a pretty good understanding of the process. Now, I don't want to make your head 'asplode, so I'll nutshell it:

    The bacteria eat the radioactive materials. The bacteria fart. A LOT. The radioactive material is released into our atmosphere, causing things like acid rain, seasonal allergens to reach all-time high levels, Britney Spears, MLS All-Star games.

    The solution, as always, is Beano(R)

    --
    Sent from your iPad.