Jul 30 2010
The land, which is plagued by radioactive particles from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, is expected to become greener with bio-fuel crops. The government of Belarus has teamed with Greenfield, an Irish company to erect a large bio-ethanol plant at the affected area that would use the biomass crops grown in the radioactive particles contaminated land as fuel.
According to an online release by the Environmental Data Interactive Exchange (EDIE), the land near the Chernobyl reactor is thought to be inapt for conventional food production but is fertile enough to grow biomass crops which not only help in the production of bio-fuel but also assist in the reduction of harmful toxins in the soil as they will be absorbed by the plants.
Greenfield is planning to use the project to analyze absorption of toxins by the biomass crops and how they the fallow land can become fertile and also evaluate the environmental benefits offered by the bi-fuel production over a radioactive polluted land.
Ann McClain, chairwoman of Greenfield, reiterated her belief that growing of biomass crop will remove radioactive contaminants from the land and using the second generation cellulose ethanol during the second stage for quicker bio-cleaning of the affected area. She hopes to succeed in cleaning the area using harmless biological methods that may result in economic, social and environmental benefits.
Source: http://www.government.by