A recent Discover magazine article entitled “New Life in a Death Trap” (December 2000) tells the story of Lake Berkeley near Butte, Montana. The lake was originally an open-pit copper mine which slowly filled up with water. Because of the residual chemicals from the mining operation, the water in the lake is highly acidic and laden with high concentrations of copper, cadmium, and arsenic. Because of these highly toxic conditions, no life can exist in the lake.
At least that is what everyone thought until 1995 when a biologist named Grant Mitman identified an algae called Euglena mutabilis that was not only living, but thriving in the water. Since that time a total of over forty microorganisms have been identified in the lake. Such organisms that are able to survive in unusually harsh conditions are called ‘extremophiles’.
The discovery of these extremophiles in Lake Berkeley is quite important because it is possible that some of these organisms, such as Chromulina freiburgensis, may be able to help reclaim the lake and other bodies of mine waste water, by neutralizing the acidity and absorbing the toxic metals. This will be very important to the people of Butte, Montana because in about 20 years the lake will fill up with ground water. After that point the poisonous lake water will begin to seep into the ground water, which supplies the community. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education