[thedoc (OP)]

A group of Brazilian researchers led by Renata Castro, have found that the classic comedy banana skin is actually very effective at removing heavy metal ions like copper and lead from water.

Read the whole story on our website by clicking here

  

[Jolly- Joliver]

Castro and his team used minced banana peel and tested how well it extracted lead and copper ions that had been dissolved in water. They found that it was almost as effective at removing the ions as the currently used silica standard, and at least twice as effective as other natural products like sawdust. It was also able to be used up to 11 times without losing its ion-removing power.

Doc do you think they could they assit in taking radioactive materials out of the sea?

[CliffordK]

Doc do you think they could they assit in taking radioactive materials out of the sea?

It likely could pick up some...

However, if you think about straw...  it is reasonably good at picking up oil.  But, then it is a pain to deal with.

Likewise, you couldn't just dump bananas in toe ocean, but would have to incorporate them as part of an active filtration system.

In Japan, if a small amount of radiation is released into sea water, and remains dissolved in the sea water, it will get dispersed quickly and will reach background radiation levels shortly after the contamination stops.  However, some will undoubtedly be incorporated into shellfish and reefs, and could potentially endure for years, in which case, the bananas would have little benefit.  But, even so, over time even the minerals that were sequestered in marine life will dissolve again, and become dispersed. 

[Jolly- Joliver]

Doc do you think they could they assit in taking radioactive materials out of the sea?

It likely could pick up some...

However, if you think about straw...  it is reasonably good at picking up oil.  But, then it is a pain to deal with.

Likewise, you couldn't just dump bananas in toe ocean, but would have to incorporate them as part of an active filtration system.

In Japan, if a small amount of radiation is released into sea water, and remains dissolved in the sea water, it will get dispersed quickly and will reach background radiation levels shortly after the contamination stops.  However, some will undoubtedly be incorporated into shellfish and reefs, and could potentially endure for years, in which case, the bananas would have little benefit.  But, even so, over time even the minerals that were sequestered in marine life will dissolve again, and become dispersed. 

It would have some benefit, currently levels are stated to be a 1000 times normal, banana skins are waste, if we could use them in a retrievable way. maybe putting lots of cages or baskets of banana skins into the effected area, hopefully it could reduce the long term damage, not stop it completely but aleast reduce it.

What to do with the banana skins afterwards it another issue but if they held the material or absored it while in the water leaving them there for a while might be alright, while we figure out what to do with them afterwards.