According to Jerzy Dec, a research associate at Pennsylvania State University's Center for Bioremediation and Detoxification, Armoracia rusticana-the ubiquitous horseradish-could become an important tool in the cleanup of phenols, which are water and soil pollutants produced by a wide range of industries.

Minced horseradish plants added to contaminated water neutralize pollution by virtue of enzymes that cause the phenols to form a stable bond with other chemicals generally present in industrial waste. The newly formed compounds, which are water insoluble, then precipitate out and are easily removed. The addition of hydrogen peroxide initiates the process, which can clear as much as 100 percent of the phenols from tainted water in just half an hour.

In a paper published last year in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Dec said that the process represents a major improvement over other forms of organic remediation, which may require weeks or months to act. The process is also effective on contaminated soil, where it binds phenols to humus.

Hundreds of thousands of liters of phenol-containing wastewater are generated every day at a typical industrial site. And hundreds of tons of soil may be contaminated by spills or as the result of continuous emissions of toxins. Given the magnitude of the problem, says Dec, another advantage of horseradish is its cost-effectiveness. In one test, minced horseradish retained 100 percent of its neutralizing effect after being used 15 times, and supplies are plentiful. In fact, the plant itself is considered something of a problem. As gardeners know, it costs less to grow horseradish than to prevent its growth.

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