IT sounds like an environmentalist’s worst nightmare—a genetically engineered bacterium running amok in a nuclear wilderness. But researchers say it could be the best way to prevent toxic chemicals from leaking out of highly radioactive sites.
There are some 3000 sites where the US produced nuclear bombs, containing 70 million cubic metres of soil—enough to cover 10 000 soccer pitches to a depth of 1 metre. Some of these sites are contaminated with heavy metals and organic chemicals that can leach into groundwater, but many sites are so radioactive they are no-go zones.
Michael Daly and his colleagues…
