Spinach and curly kale are good at absorbing dangerous substances such as cadmium, mercury, heavy metals and pah’s from the air. Wageningen UR is planting these vegetables near the Harlingen waste incinerator and uses them as measuring instruments.
Foto: Bert van Alfen placing filters in a special tray for determination of the amount of fluoride in air. (photo: LC/Catrinus van der Veen)
Rabbits Beunie and Lucy are happily sniffing in their hutches in the garden of the Graham family in Wijnaldum. Right next to their luxurious housings, workers of Plant Research International, part of Wageningen UR, last week placed the fence of a very special patch where Johan Derksen and Bert van Alfen yesterday placed six trays with spinach. This means that the so-called biomonitoring of the emission of the incinerator can begin.
Spinach and curly kale are particularly suitable for easily and rapidly absorbing the dreaded substances from the air. "They have large leaves, which makes them absorb more than other crops. These sensitive plants keep those substances at the same place'', says scientist Chris van Dijk of the Wageningen research institute. He can easily imagine that people around the waste energy plant (REC) are concerned about the content of the smoke plume that will characterise the skyline of Harlingen in a year’s time. "People are not interested in heavy reports. Biomonitoring is a simple way to provide clear answers.''