"At Pueblo, each shell is pierced by a robot arm, and the mustard agent inside is sucked out. The shell is washed and baked to destroy any remaining traces. The mustard agent is diluted in hot water, then broken down by bacteria in a process not unlike the one used in sewage treatment plants. It yields a residue that is mostly ordinary table salt, Mr. Levi said, but is laced with heavy metals that require handling as hazardous waste. “Bacteria are amazing,” Mr. Levi said as he watched shells being destroyed during the last day of operations at Pueblo. “Find the right ones, and they’ll eat just about anything.”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Dave Philipps, John Ismay; “U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal”, New York Times, (July 6, 2023)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bacteria
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bacteria
10 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bacteria →
Related Quotes
"Molecular biology has shown that even the simplest of all living systems on earth today, bacterial cells, are exceedi…"
"[A bacterium] weighs as little as 0.00000000001 gram. A blue whale weighs about 100,000,000 grams. Yet bacteria can k…"
"If you equate the probability of the birth of a bacterial cell to that of the chance assembly of its component atoms,…"
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn’t plan to revolutionize all medicine by discov…"
"[The smallest bacterium] is so much more like people than Stanley Miller’s mixtures of chemicals, because it already …"
"A very small event in the microbial community can have an enormous impact on the environment."
"I’m surprised to see people get so wildly excited about a possible bacterium on Mars when our own planet is crawling …"
"Twelve thousand people die because of drug-resistant bacteria in Canada every year"
"I’m not talking about people, Natasha. I’m talking about bacteria, the real rulers of the Earth."
"A leaflet drops through your letter box advising on ways to avoid contracting and spreading . Your bag is searched as…"