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Thursday, 24th March 2005 (3968 views)

Gold could be used to help clean up a toxic pollutant in groundwater.<br/><br/>According to US scientists the precious metal could be used to clean the pollutant in a faster and cheaper way than is currently possible.<br/><br/>Carcinogen trichloroethene (TCE) is a colourless organic liquid that smells like chloroform and it is found in the manufacture of metal engineering parts, said to cause liver damage and cancer in humans.<br/><br/>Before regulations were implemented, the US used to dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the liquid on land or in water and so a lot of it now remains in groundwater.<br/><br/>According to the researchers by using gold and palladium nanoparticles the pollutant can be broken down more quickly.<br/><br/>Research has been conducted by engineers at Rice University and the George Institute of Technology.<img alt="track" src="http://directnews.dehavilland.co.uk/dn.gif?feedid=196&itemid=8109686"/>

 

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