The Benefits Of Sunflowers Are More Than Just Beautification

Besides being pretty and beautifying a landscape, what might flowers do for us? They might help return the soil to usable faster in the case of a nuclear incident or Russian Missile strike!

Phytoremediation

It’s called phytoremediation and it is the process of treating contaminated soil or groundwater through the use of green plants that remove, degrade, or stabilize the undesirable substances.

After the meltdown at the Chernobyl Power Plant in Ukraine, which released more than 100 radioactive elements into our environment, sunflowers were planted in droves to pull radioactive materials from the impacted fallout sites. Originally born in 1994 when a New Jersey-based company planted sunflowers on a floating raft to absorb radioactive particles from the water, the idea was noted to absorb radiocesium and radiostrontium from water and the results indicated that in ten days they cleared 95% of the radionuclides out.

While the sunflowers absorbed the 137CS, most of it stayed in the roots and most of the 90Sr moved into the shoots. It was found that the sunflowers didn’t metabolize the radionuclides. This made the waste able to be disposed of safely.

When Japan suffered the Fukashima meltdown, Monks at a Japanese Buddhist temple began growing and distributing sunflowers because they were known to absorb radiation.

The project grew throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of flowers were grown, spurring deeper connections between people in Fukushima and the rest of the world.

At least 8 million sunflowers that bloom in Fukushima originated with the monks, who also planted field mustard, amaranthus, and cockscomb. All three additional plants are believed to soak up and absorb radion and toxins in the ground.

Cleaning Up With Sunflowers

Life on earth arose when levels of radiation from the sun and the stars were much higher than they are today. Plants evolved in ways that enabled them to thrive in adverse conditions so, it shouldn’t shock us that some plants have developed or evolved complex systems allowing them to take in and remove toxic and even radioactive materials from the ecosystem.

Sunflowers can soak up exceedingly large amounts of toxic elements in their tissues, such as 137Cs and 90Sr, which were found in the radioactively contaminated sites around the power plant. Because they have this heightened ability of metal uptake, sunflowers and called hyperaccumulators.

All plants won’t survive after absorbing such toxins. Many aren’t able to stave off the poisons and die. However, the sunflower’s larger biomass and its rapid growth ability allow it to isolate contaminants and continue to grow.

Some nuclear isotopes mimic the nutrients that the sunflower would usually get from the soil. Cesium mimics potassium, which is essential for photosynthesis. Strontium parallels calcium's chemistry which is needed for the growth and structural strength of the sunflower plants.

Sunflowers remain proficient in root-to-shoot translocation of contaminants. This means that the concentrated radioactive contaminants remain in the plants' biomass and are converted into carbon-based forms. The harvestable biomass of the grown flower can be disposed of by pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a process in which organic carbon in the plant is burnt, leaving behind radioactive waste. The waste can then be converted into glass by vitrification and stored safely underground.

There is always a chance that the plants can still make their way into the food chain. Typically sunflowers would be harvested before they bear seeds because the aim is to harvest the biomass. Once flowering and seed-production have started, the plants do not grow much vegetatively. The result is less production of harvestable tissue.

Thoughts On Sunflowers

Sunflowers are worth more than a nutritious snack. Not only do they beautify the landscape but they have an environmentally friendly effect because of their internal makeup. The fact that plants help our environment through photosynthesis aside, the phytoremediation process is an incredible benefit when it works. Just don’t make the mistake made in Fukushima, use genuine sunflowers.

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