Oak Ridge National Laboratory Develops Chemical Detection System for Water Supplies

U.S. researchers have developed a new system that uses algae to determine whether water supplies have been contaminated with chemical agents, the Indian newspaper The Statesman reported today (see GSN, Jan. 4).

The system, developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, measures the fluorescence of the algae in the water, according to the Statesman.

“Depending upon whether the water is healthy or it has been exposed to poison, the fluorescence signature changes. It is that change in signature that we use as the detection method for detecting the presence of chemical warfare agents,” said Eli Greenbaum of the laboratory’s Chemical Sciences Division (The Statesman, Feb. 15).

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