[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS: Switchgrass designed to clean up RDX

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Genetically modified grass used clean soil pollutants at military test sites

By Brooks Hays

UPI

May 3, 2021

Toxins from explosives and fire-fighting foams are known to leach into the environment at military bases around the world. But a new type of grass could help clean up the mess.

To tackle the problem of water contamination at training ranges, munitions dumps and other military facilities, scientists genetically modified a special grass variety to capture and trap RDX, a toxic chemical common used in munitions.

Researchers detailed their engineering feat in a new paper, published Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

For the project, scientists selected a switchgrass variety typically used to control soil erosion. In the lab, researchers inserted a pair of genes from a bacteria species known to breakdown RDX.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/05/03/britain-switchgrass-gm-crop-rdx-toxins-cleanup/6331620066422/

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

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