How Radioactive Waste Was Cleaned Up Using Sunflowers?

In a process called phytoremediation, hyperaccumulating plants are used to clean up environmental contamination. After the Hiroshima, Fukushima, and Chernobyl nuclear disasters, sunflower fields were planted across affected landscapes to help absorb toxic metals and radiation from the soil. Sunflowers were most notably used after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to remove cesium and strontium (radioactive elements) from the soil and ponds. Scientists have discovered that sunflowers can pull radioactive contaminants out of the soil, and researchers cleaning up the Fukushima site in Japan are putting the flowers to the test.

Sunflowers extract metal compounds from deep in the soil and transport them into the stem, leaves, and flower head. In a process called phytoremediation, hyperaccumulating plants are used to clean up environmental contamination. In 1994, a multinational effort successfully employed sunflowers to clean up both 137 Cs and strontium 90 Sr from the water in Chernobyl, Ukraine. They can absorb zinc, copper, and other common pollutants across their genome.

In 2001, an article in the New York Times titled “Dangling sunflower roots pull both cesium 137 and strontium 90 out of the water”. After they’ve done their work, the sunflowers are disposed of as radioactive waste. Scientists have found that sunflowers can absorb radioactive metals, storing them in the leaves and stems. If the sunflowers are cut and removed to a place where they can be properly harvested and disposed of as nuclear waste, they can help restore the environment to its pre-existing state.