All kinds of industries pollute the air around it and also cause the pollution of the soil surrounding by several contaminants that we can’t see as the soil that is full of contaminants looks like the usual dirt. Before using the area surrounding the industries it has to be checked about toxic.
It takes up to two weeks nowadays to take the samples to the labs and get the results of processing.
The device, known as the Safe Soil Tester (SST), was developed by a team of six at Bell’s company, Crown Bio Technology Ltd, UK. In its present incarnation, the system tests specifically for one of the most common ground pollutants, carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The SST mixes soil samples with naturally bioluminescent vibrio fischeri bacteria. If PAHs are present in the sample, the bacteria will die, and their bioluminescence will cease. The device picks up this change in luminescence, and uses it to rate the toxicity of the soil. Each test takes only 12 to 15 minutes, and is reportedly better able to detect PAHs than traditional chemical testing.
Because it is GPS-enabled, the SST can then indicate the location of the polluted soil on a satellite map of the area.
UK Power Networks has already purchased some of the devices, for monitoring its own oil clean-up efforts at its numerous electricity transmission sites across England. Bell is currently negotiating with military and governmental partners in Europe, the U.S., Canada, Brazil and the Middle East, to develop SSTs that could test for pollutants such as heavy metals, radioactive materials, and disease pathogens.