[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [SANET-MG] transgenic trees?



Hi Cheryl and John,
Danbury Connecticut  is currently using  GM trees to remediate  a
heavily mercury polluted site. The GM trees grow well on the heavily
polluted soil but , contrary to what John indicated, they do not trap
the mercury but they do release it to the atmosphere. The promoters have
claimed that the mercury "safely" circulates in the atmosphere for years
than is deposited on earth in  in rainfall and snow. The released form
of mercury is elemental mercury rather than the toxic ionic or organic
forms. The problem, in reality, is that the elemental mercury is
deposited heavily in rain and snow maily  within a hundred mile radius
of the remediation site. It is like coal burning power plants and waste
sites in that both forms release mainly elemental mercury pollution.
When the elemental mercury  is deposited in soil or water bodies
microbes rapidly convert it into ionic and organic mercury. Organic
(methyl) mercury cause birth defects and nerve damage in humans and
bio-accumulates in fish and game. The US EPA seems schizophrenic in
supporting  both control off  atmosphere mercury emission and
remediation by gm trees.
There are GM trees on the "drawing board" that sequester mercury from
the soil but these trees will  release it in high amounts when the trees
are burned or decay naturally. The only true remediation of mercury may
be vitrification (adding to glass) or forming minerals  trapping the
mercury.
I hope this helps, sincerely, joe cummins

John D'hondt wrote:

Greetings to the list,
Could someone explain the relationship between transgenic trees and


mercury.


Thanks,
Cheryl Mulholland NC



Any reason to promote a transgenic anything is used Cheryl.
Trees take up some mercury when they grow in a mercury polluted site.
Maybe transgenic trees take up more mercury than ordinary trees but I have
seen no convincing research for that.
Then for as long as the trees grow that mercury is for all practical reasons
out of the environment. One could say that trees therefore have a cleaning
function.
When they are burned at the end of their lives the hope is that the mercury
spreads so thin that it won't matter.
But when one talks about it enough it begins to sound that only transgenic
trees do something useful with mercury.
john

********************************************************
To unsubscribe from SANET-MG:
1- Visit http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html to unsubscribe or;
2- Send a message to <listserv@sare.org> from the address subscribed to the list. Type "unsubscribe sanet-mg" in the body of the message.

Visit the SANET-MG archives at: http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html
For more information on grants and other resources available through the SARE program, please visit http://www.sare.org.



********************************************************
To unsubscribe from SANET-MG:
1- Visit http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html to unsubscribe or;
2- Send a message to <listserv@sare.org> from the address subscribed to the list. Type "unsubscribe sanet-mg" in the body of the message.

Visit the SANET-MG archives at: http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html
For more information on grants and other resources available through the SARE program, please visit http://www.sare.org.