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Seaweed solution to DDT
10 May 2004
Scientists from CSIRO and several universities have found that sprinkling powdered seaweed on contaminated soil can accelerate the breakdown of the chemical DDT. In tests, the right dose of seaweed caused 80 per cent of the chemical to vanish in six weeks. The seaweed works by helping micro-organisms in the soil to attack the toxin. The organisms' enzymes convert DDT into substances that deteriorate quickly.
DDT was used as an insecticide widely from the 1940s until 1987. It was also used in combination with other chemicals such as arsenic, particularly in cattle dips. There are still about 1,600 cattle-dip sites around Australia contaminated with DDT.
The Age, 10/5/04.
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