Danbury, Connecticut 2004:
Researchers are using phytoremediation to clean up mercury contamination in Danbury, CT. A collaboration between UGA, Western Connecticut State University, Applied PhytoGenetics, Inc., of Athens, Georgia, and the City of Danbury has planted cottonwood trees at the site of an old hat factory. The trees have been genetically modified with a gene called merA which allows them to detoxify mercury. The EPA provided a grant of $55,162 to set up the experiment which is a cost significantly less than traditional methods of treatment that could total $1 million. More
Cotton wood (Populus fremontii)
US Department of Energy, 2004:
The US Department of Energy has recently decoded the genome for a bacterium in the genus Geobacter. This species is capable of detoxifying uranium by reducing it to form a precipitate as explained in the biological processes section. Now it is being used by the Department to clean up old mining sites contaminated during the cold war. Much of this research was funded by a US Department of Energy program known as Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR). More
Geobacter using Mn as electron acceptor
County Durham, England 2003:
Many projects to bioremediate acid mine drainage using constructed wetlands have been initiated in the past few years. An example of one such project is the Quaking Houses wetland in County Durham, England. Recent studies have shown that this system has successfully lowered concentration of sulfate and iron contaminants. More
