23 August 2006:
Australian scientists are developing a
“magic wand” to find out how dangerous is the
contamination lurking in the soils and groundwater beneath our
cities.
Researchers in CRC CARE (the Cooperative
Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the
Environment) are developing special sensors to analyse the toxic
stew of chemicals under old industrial sites – so they can be
safely treated and the land made safe for future use.
“We’re developing sensors that
will give us a much better idea of the pollution present over
time,” explains Associate Professor Jack Ng of CRC CARE and
the University of Queensland.
“These sensors reveal the
concentration of the contaminants and their potential effect on
humans, plants and animals. They will enable us to search for
specific contaminants that are of concern or to diagnose mixtures
of pollutants.”
In some case the “sensors” will
consist of special microbes tuned to light up if they encounter
particular contaminants, or show toxic stress by changing shape,
altering their coats or even dying.
“We’ve already developed bugs
that light up when they come in contact with a certain
contaminant. You can do it by inserting a lux
(light-generating) gene into the microbe or by using a fluorescent
probe,” Professor Ng explains.
One of the approaches the team is working on
is to put the sensors on a rod – referred to as a
“magic wand” – which can be stuck in the soil or
water and provide an on-the-spot readout on the presence of toxic
contaminants. This will dramatically reduce the time needed to send
samples to a laboratory for analysis.
The managing director of CRC CARE, Professor
Ravi Naidu, explains that risk assessment is the critical first
step in making society safe from the contamination caused by past
decades of industrial development.
“In order to treat these sites
effectively and economically, we need to know exactly what’s
down there,” he says. “The tools being developed by CRC
CARE’s Risk Assessment Programme will help us to do just
that.”
Prof. Ng says the new sensors will be quick,
low cost and easy to use. In many cases they will provide an
answer in the field – a huge help to site developers who
suddenly discover they have a contamination problem to deal
with.
His team is also working on a way to predict
the impact on the Australian population of exposure to particular
toxic substances.
“We are seeking to establish what is
‘normal’ in people in terms of their response to
particular substances, so that we can say with confidence whether
or not they are being poisoned by exposure to something that may be
in the environment, whether it is natural of man-made.
“We believe this will be a significant
reassurance to many people who worry about whether their health is
being affected by exposure to contamination, by providing a
confident answer whether or not that substance may be to
blame.”
Another project is investigating how oil
spills move underground in water, and how they can re-enter the
atmosphere as potentially-toxic vapours. This will help Australia
to refine its health and environmental impact standards, Prof. Ng
says.
“Knowing what you’re dealing
with and whether or not it poses a risk to living creatures and
people is half the battle when dealing with contamination,”
he adds. “Sometimes it will simply tell you that you
don’t have a problem. At others it will give you a much
clearer idea of how to fix it.”
The CRC CARE technology can potentially add
billions of dollars to the Australian economy by helping to
transform “problem” contaminated sites in inner-city
locations into real estate safe for residential or business
development, Prof. Naidu adds.
“It will help put Australia in the
world lead in dealing with a problem which every society on earth
is facing. There are an estimated 3 million contaminated
sites in Asia alone, are we’re getting calls all the time
asking us to help clean them up,” he says.
More information:
Associate Professor Jack Ng, CRC CARE and University of Queensland,
07 3274 9020 or 0414 747 147 Email:
j.ng@.uq.edu.au
Professor Ravi Naidu, CRC CARE, 08 8302 5041 or 0407 720 257
Kim Sinclair, CRC CARE communication, ph 08 8302 3933 or 0416 095
324
Kim.sinclair@crccare.com
