In Russia, they learned to grow absorbent radiation plant

Siberian scientists have learned to cultivate water hyacinth, which is capable of absorbing toxic substances from water, including – radioactive elements. Russian scientists from the Institute cytology and genetics, operating at the Siberian branch of the RAS, spent on the basis of a radiation reserve in the vicinity of the city Ozersk Chelyabinsk region experiment on the use of plants to absorb radiation. Siberian scientists in the greenhouses of the institute learned to grow water hyacinth, which successfully absorbs radionuclides and heavy metals, thereby purifying contaminated territory, ITAR-TASS reports. Photos from open sources

The city of Ozersk in 1957 suffered from an explosion at a production Mayak association, where work was underway to create a plutonium bomb – the first in the USSR. After the explosion of one of the tanks with highly active waste of the neighborhood of the city were declared radiation reserve, and local scientists are actively engaged in the issue of purification affected area. As the deputy director said Institute of Cytology and Genetics Sergey Veprev, experiments with water hyacinth, which scientists scattered on infected radiation ponds have been very successful. As it turned out, this species of plants perfectly absorbs heavy metals, radionuclides cesium and strontium from water. Laboratory experiments have shown that in a kilogram of dry weight of water hyacinth can accumulate up to 4.6-4.8 grams of the non-radioactive isotope of strontium, which It is actually a substitute for calcium for the plant. After that as a plant absorbs radioactive substances, it is burned. IN the result of a ton of water hyacinth is about 15–20 kilograms of ash.

A photo from open sources

Currently, on the basis of the institute, scientists cultivate water hyacinth in greenhouses. The plant is grown and propagated in even in winter, scientists even learned how to get plant seeds in similar conditions, which they can’t do anywhere else in the world. Scientists grown plants during the winter are sent to Ozersk by trains. In addition to the biopolygon in Ozersk, water hyacinth is currently also used on Lake Curve near the Novosibirsk airport Tolmachevo, where in the spring the fish began to die due to water runway anti-icing fluid. As it turned out, this plant copes well with this poisonous substance.

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