Status: U Return-Path: Received: from granger.mail.mindspring.net ([207.69.200.148]) by pickering.mail.mindspring.net (Earthlink Mail Service) with ESMTP id th7slk.nqu.37kbi14.2 for ; Tue, 29 May 2001 15:04:20 -0400 (EDT) Received: from user-2ivf22u.dialup.mindspring.com (user-2ivf22u.dialup.mindspring.com [165.247.136.94]) by granger.mail.mindspring.net (8.9.3/8.8.5) with SMTP id PAA22177 for ; Tue, 29 May 2001 15:04:19 -0400 (EDT) From: lflondon@mindspring.com To: lflondon@mindspring.com Subject: (fwd) soil remediation and phytic acid Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 15:10:45 -0400 Message-ID: <71t7htgrp1cjtf8uavkbc92rel5upb1u03@4ax.com> X-Mailer: Forte Agent 1.7/32.534 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 X-UIDL: th7slk.nqu.37kbi14.2.0 On 29 May 2001 11:02:36 -0600, in sci.environment.waste Tom Hennessy wrote: Subject: RE: soil remediation I have been studying the use of chelators in the removal of metals from the body. This seems at the moment to have become very important due to the lowering of the 'acceptable' levels of lead in the environment. The soil in the housing project has now become .. unacceptable.. and the parents and home owners have become very concerned. The following snip is from the Argonne site and since their work will probably take years to determine the efficacy of this remediation I am hoping someone may be able to theorize as to the effects of simply spraying a solution of phytic acid.. and water on the affected soil and planting the proper metal accumulating plants. The phytic acid .. in theory .. would bind up the metals and therefore would extend the safety window thus allowing the residents to continue to live in the area with.. peace of mind. The phytic acid would render the lead insoluble? and thus allow the plants to remove the lead over a few growing seasons? Thanx. Tom Subject: RE: soil remediation Capturing Heavy Metals Argonne chemists have begun laboratory testing of a new technology to limit the movement of hazardous radionuclides through the environment. The technology is designed to capture heavy metals, such as uranium and plutonium, and reduce their solubility, thus keeping them from being transported in groundwater. It uses phytic acid, a natural chelating agent which captures the heavy metal ion through a process called a cation exchange. In this process, one atom or group of atoms in the agent swaps places with the heavy metal atoms in the contaminated material. Phytic acid has the added advantage of spontaneously decomposing over time, releasing phosphate - which joins with the heavy metal ions to form an insoluble mineral - and harmless sugars. If successful, the technology would be used to treat contaminated soil at U.S. Department of Energy production facilities. The research is funded by the Efficient Separations and Processes Program at DOE. Funding for the research is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences. -- Who loves ya. Tom Jesus was a Vegetarian! http://www.nucleus.com/watchman Moses was a Mystic! http://www.nucleus.com/watchman/light.html L.F.London ICQ#27930345 lflondon@mindspring.com www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech london@ibiblio.org