Study Shows Bacteria Could Be Solution for PCB's in the Future
A study recently conducted by the National Science Foundation and General Electric has found a group of bacteria that is able to detoxify the common PCB form AROCLOR 1260. Using funding from the National Science Foundation and General Electric, a PCB expert from Rensalear Polytechnical Institute, along with a team of microbiologists from Georgia Tech, were able to find this combination that could remove chlorine atoms in Aroclor 1260, and replace them with hydrogen, thus dechlorinating the PCBs.
This article proves that there are other options besides dredging that companies and governments could seek in PCB control. If instead of spending $700 million to dredge the river, General Electric had sought these technological advances earlier, they could have possibly saved an immense sum of money, while possibly controlling PCB in a more effective way. Instead of rushing into costly environmental projects, businesses should seek cheap technological advances. This will allow businesses to prosper and help the environement simultaneously.
http://www.hindu.com/seta/2007/04/12/stories/2007041200111500.htm
posted by joebock97 @ 6:50 PM
2 Comments:
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Good find Joe! Findings like these are the reason that I voted in class that the ideal solution to the PCB problem in the Hudson River would be to wait a few years and then dredge if that is still the best option. In the meantime, use the 700 million dollars that General Electric has pledged to clean up the PCBs, to fund more research on PCBs and possibly find more efficient ways to deal with them. Because dredging is such a messy process, GE argues that dredging would be counterproductive because it would only stir up more PCBs that are buried deep in the sediment and not moving. However, dredging techniques have improved so much that an estimated less than 2 percent of PCBs dredged would be released into the river. If the dredging were done 10 years ago, the process would have been a lot less effective and a lot more disruptive to the river and the local communities. Who knows where science and technology will take us in the next ten years? Investing a few million into research could lead to a more efficient solution than dredging and potentially save hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used elsewhere on the river. I do think that ten years should be the maximum amount of time allotted for research. If in ten years, dredging is still the best solution to the PCB problem in the Hudson; than the most advanced dredging techniques should be used. With rapid advancements in science and technology happening all the time, I believe this is the most intelligent route to take in cleansing the Hudson River of harmful PCBs.
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