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Broccoli Cure-All
Broccoli may help clean up selenium-contaminated soil, according to U.C. plant biology professor Norman Terry. Terry has found that several common crop plants - especially broccoli, rice, and cabbage - have the ability "volatilize" selenium by absorbing the substance into their root systems and converting it to a gas which is then dispersed into the atmosphere. The gas, dimethyl selenide, is 500 to 700 times less toxic than the soluble form of selenium, and since the plants retain virtually no selenium in their stems and leaves, they pose no threat to wildlife and don't need to be carted off to a hazardous waste dump. "The great thing about volatilization is that it's a way of getting the selenium completely out of the ecosystem," Terry says. Plants like broccoli are inexpensive to grow and have literally miles of roots probing every cubic millimeter of soil. Terry predicts they could prove to be especially useful in situations where large areas have been contaminated with relatively low levels of toxics. "They can pull stuff out of the soil better than anything we can devise," he says. (510)642-3510
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