Mutant worms could clean up polluted landsites

Jessica Salter
Last Updated: 12:01pm BST 11/09/2008

Worms that have mutated to survive toxic environments could be used to clean up heavy metals that have polluted soils.

Earthworms: Mutated worms might be able to help clean up contaminated sites
Scientists believe earthworms that have undergone rapid evolutionary changes after surviving in abandoned mines could help clean up sites contaminated by industries such as mining, engineering works and lead smelting operations.
The worms, which can consume 30 times their own body weight each day, may be bred and distributed so new homes can be built on former brownfield areas.
Mark Hodson from the University of Reading said: "As a surgeon can examine your vital organs to gain an understanding of how your body is functioning, we can now look inside an earthworm and see what is happening to the metals that have been ingested along with the soil."
He told a the BA science festival in Liverpool that the size of the metal samples scientists used were one thousand times smaller than a grain of salt.
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He said: "Earthworms are the biggest beasts in the soil and the best way to establish if the soil is healthy is to ask the animals that live there.
"If, with the help of modern synchrotron science, we can learn enough about what the earthworms are capable of doing to the soil, they could also become 21st century eco-warriors by helping to tackle soil pollution more efficiently than man has been able to up until this point in history."