Land Rehabilitation & Remediation
Researchers at the University of York, UK, have discovered how to engineer plants that take up contaminants leached into the soil by explosives. A bacterium capable of utilising the components of RDX explosive as a nutrient has been studied & used to isolate an enzyme that rapidly converts nitrogen into biomass. By placing the genetics into plants the biodegradation and conversion of RDX components is a sustainable, inexpensive and low maintenance method for the remediation of contaminated land commonly found in military training sites (http://tinyurl.com/7r4ps).