Blue goo used to clean up radioactive waste

Cleaning up radioactive waste usually requires lots water and soap. Hawaiian entrepreneur Hank Wuh invented a blue goo called DeconGel that can literally peal away contaminants. Wuh gave away 100 five-gallon pails of the cleaner to Japanese officials, reports CNN. The gel can peal away dirt, oil, grease, algae..and anything that doesn't belong on the surface.

In Japan, the goo is being used to clean up areas in and around the exclusion zones including sidewalks, parking lots and other commercial zones. However, the goo can't make radioactivity disappear. But it can reduce disposal of the waste by 90 percent. It contains the waste more than traditional clean up methods, so contaminants are less likely to leak back into the environment.

CNN Money describes how the goo works:

DeconGel starts off as a liquid that can be brushed or sprayed onto contaminated surfaces. It dries to form a gel that encapsulates microscopic bits of radioactive or otherwise hazardous waste, including PCBs, beryllium, mercury and chromium. The gel can then be peeled off, rolled up and thrown away.

In the next few years, Wuh expects orders for DeconGel to increase substantially.

Watch how the biodegradable slime works:

In emergencies, new products like DeconGel are tested out. During the BP oil spill clean up, researchers tried out a non-woven cotton absorbent called Fibertect. Originally developed to protect the U.S. military from chemical and biological warfare agents, this raw cotton and carbon material has already been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. When researchers tested it on the shores of Louisiana, it passed the test.

Blue goo sucks up toxic waste [CNN]

Photo via CNN, source DeconGel

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com