The pumpkin, used to light the path for children’s trick or treating at Halloween, has been given a new food industry role by Canadian scientists.
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Researchers at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, found that pumpkins are effective at soaking up low levels of DDT’s and PCB’s in contaminated soil.
The study, published in Canada’s Environmental Science & Technology journal, said such pollutants are hard to remove as they do not bind to water but the growing pumpkins can suck the contaminants directly out of the soil. Also, pumpkins are easier to haul away as opposed to digging, removing and incinerating a field of soil.
