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Innovations
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| Bacteria Breakfast Lance Frazer Abstract
As of 1990, there were more than two billion waste tires stockpiled in the United States, with another 250 million tires being added each year. These tires present a variety of threats to human health. Landfill operators are increasingly reluctant to accept tires because of health concerns: tires make ideal breeding places for rats and mosquitoes and, when burned, can release hazardous materials including soot, benzene, sulfur, and heavy metals. Plus, during landfill fires, surface heat can melt buried tires, releasing oil and other petroleum compounds that can pass into soil and groundwater. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratories have uncovered one possible solution to the stockpile problem: the use of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a hardy, sulfur-loving bacterium, to "eat" finely ground tire rubber. The process may increase the number of tires recycled in the United States by as much as 20%, and may also be applicable to other rubber-containing products such as automotive belts and hoses.
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