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Science Technology

Fungi May Help With Asbestos Cleanups 31

Posted by timothy from the repurposing dept.
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."
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Fungi May Help With Asbestos Cleanups More

Fungi May Help With Asbestos Cleanups

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  • Good news (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kruetz ( 642175 ) on Monday January 20, 2003 @09:45PM (#5123744) Journal
    This sounds like a great but increasingly rare achievement - scientists getting somewhere that actually benefits the world (although I thought that asbestos problems had been mostly solved by removing it from all buildings, etc). I'm sick and tired of reading in the papers about all sorts of trivial or "pop-science" experiments being done by scientists in a last-ditch effort to either get funding or exposure.

    Imagine if they could extend this to handle diseases and other toxic chemicals - it could spell a much safer world for everyone. No more anthrax-in-envelopes killing people! Far less dangerous workplaces at chemical production plants. Way to go!

    • Re:Good news (Score:2, Interesting)

      by sprzepiora ( 160561 )
      The technology has been around for a long time to use bio-remediation techniques for a lot of chemicals. They have been in use too, I worked on a spill once that was using "critters" to clean gasoline from soil. While it was working it turned the soil a nice shade of purple.

    • Re:Good news (Score:4, Informative)

      by barakn ( 641218 ) on Monday January 20, 2003 @11:26PM (#5124294)
      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 [montanaforum.com]. 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 [btinternet.com]. 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 (Score:2, Informative)

        by gene_tailor ( 601527 )
        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 [epa.gov], 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.

    • Perhaps you aren't reading the right sources? The newspapers *choose* to report on "pop-science", but that doesn't mean that that is all that is going on in scientific research!

      The scientists doing the routine baby-steps-forward type of work, especially in non-sexy areas of research, are not the ones getting the big publicity. With regards to this topic in particular, there are many scientists working on bioremediation efforts with biological organisms, including bacteria that metabolize toxic chemicals or "treat" sewage or oil spills, plants that absorb heavy metals, etc. Try doing some searches for more info and you might be surprised what is already possible.

      Disclosure: I'm a scientistst, so I'm biased to believe that many scientists are doing something beneficial for the world...

    • Re:Good news (Score:3, Insightful)

      by sl3xd ( 111641 )
      This sounds like a great but increasingly rare achievement - scientists getting somewhere that actually benefits the world

      It's precicely that kind of attitude that gives science a bad name.

      It's also rubbish. Science has done more to help humanity than you realize, and in more ways than you choose to believe. Scientists are not about destroying the world, but they are about discovering as much as possible about it, in as inobtrusively as possible.

      Then, if somebody finds a use for whatever they discover, so be it. But that's the business end of the deal, and has little to do with science, or understanding.
      • Sorry about that - I should have said that I'm glad to see such a beneficial scientific achievement *in the press*. I don't believe that the majority of science is 'pop-science' (except psychology and bits of biology), but just that most of the scientific 'advances' reported in the media are trivial or non-beneficial.

        It's also rubbish. Science has done more to help humanity than you realize, and in more ways than you choose to believe. Scientists are not about destroying the world, but they are about discovering as much as possible about it, in as inobtrusively as possible.

        Woah! I'm sorry my comment mislead you. I'm a Science/Engineering student, having done Physics and Maths - I appreciate what scientists have done and are continuing to do. I also appreciate that many scientists don't necessarily care about the practical applications of their work. That's fine - I congratulate them. Having completed a Pure Mathematics major, I can appreciate their POV.

        I guess I didn't make it clear enough that my gripe lay with the media. I'll be sure to point it out more clearly next time

    • Re:Good news (Score:2, Informative)

      by Radish03 ( 248960 )
      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.
  • That stuff will grow on anything. Just feed it a steady diet of chlorox and water.

  • Disclaimer (Score:3, Funny)

    by PaddyM ( 45763 ) on Monday January 20, 2003 @10:43PM (#5124044) Homepage
    ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA may also eat carrots from your garden. Do not place ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA near iron i-beams. ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA has been found to cause cancer in ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA. And like coffee, ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA is good for the heart, bad for the heart, stimulating, depressing, addicting, and tastes terrible on Mondays.
    • ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA may also eat carrots from your garden. Do not place ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA near iron i-beams. ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA has been found to cause cancer in ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA. And like coffee, ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA is good for the heart, bad for the heart, stimulating, depressing, addicting, and tastes terrible on Mondays.

      Do not taunt ASBESTOS-EATING-BACTERIA [faqs.org].

  • Cleaning up... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DaveOnNet ( 636006 ) <[dscotese] [at] [yahoo.com]> on Tuesday January 21, 2003 @12:58AM (#5124746) Homepage Journal

    Did they also come up with something to get rid of the fungi once all the asbestos is gone?

    • OSR (Score:2, Funny)

      by kippy ( 416183 )
      Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
      Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
      Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
      Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
      Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
      Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
      Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.
    • Sure they did!

      It seems that the Bolivian Tree Lizard [snpp.com] loves eating fungi almost as much it loves pigeons, and once we're overrun by them we'll just release wave after wave of Chinese Needle Snake. The beautiful part is, however, the Gorillas we have lined up that thrive on snake meat, as once they've finished off the snakes they'll freeze to death during the wintertime!

    • Yes, some mineral which some say is carcinogenic, but others say more research is needed. Didn't you read the article?

  • Is it American fungus? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hubert_Shrump ( 256081 ) <cobranetNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday January 21, 2003 @01:17AM (#5124841) Journal
    Because I can see all the cancer-of-the-golgi-apparatus lawsuits a mile away...


  • It is interesting reading about fungi. However, isn't Slashdot a little bit off topic these days? Is there anyone out there who is still interested in computing?
    • Most nerds I know are into science as well as computers. If you don't want science stories, turn them off [slashdot.org], or find a computers only news site. Personally, I enjoy the science stories.

      • I like the science stories, too, and I said that. However, I think there should be more stories about computing. I can go elsewhere for my news on other topics; I need Slashdot for news about computing.

        It does not work to turn off science stories, because that eliminates science stories about computing.

        Did you notice that the stories are dominated by those entered by Timothy? Did you notice that Michael rarely enters a new story now? The character of Slashdot has changed.
    • There's only so much going on in the computing world on any day. Personally, the science stories are a major part of what makes me read Slashdot every day.
  • when that excess iron enters the food chain? People talk about GM crops, but things like this are where the danger lies.

    • Re:What happens (Score:5, Interesting)

      by k98sven ( 324383 ) on Tuesday January 21, 2003 @09:17AM (#5126467) Journal
      when that excess iron enters the food chain? People talk about GM crops, but things like this are where the danger lies.

      Oh, please.. get a clue. This is IRON we're talking about,
      one of the most well-known substances around.
      (our knowledge goes back to.. well, the iron age..)

      Iron does *not* bioaccumulate.

      Iron has a low level of toxicity, almost all cases of iron-poisoning are
      due to children swallowing large amounts of iron tablets.

      Also, the risk of this bacteria spreading is minimal. Being able to eat asbestos does not provide you with any evolutionary advantages.

      You might as well propose a ban on cast-iron skillets.
      • You might as well propose a ban on cast-iron skillets.

        Bill 62-204c for immediate legislative action:

        Whereas many children die each year from iron poisoning, and whereas cast-iron skillets contain leathal levels of iron, let it be resolved to ban cast-iron skillets on this day January twenty second of the year two thousand and three.

        -

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