MILLIONS of hectares of land contaminated by explosives are a step closer to salvation, as University of York scientists move closer to being able to clean it – using plants.

Explosives, especially TNT, are a key pollutant of land. It is a global pollutant, and over the last 100 years there have been mounting concerns over its toxicity to living systems.

In the USA alone it is estimated that some 10 million hectares of military land is contaminated by munitions.

Where it is used, TNT remains in the roots of plants, where it inhibits growth and development.

Now, biologists at the University of York have found a way to produce TNT-resistant plants to revegetate contaminated sites such as military ranges and manufacturing waste sites.

Professor Neil Bruce, who led the research, said: “There is a lot of interest in natural mechanisms for the removal of recalcitrant toxic chemicals from the biosphere and because of the scale of explosives pollution, particularly on military training ranges, the remediation of polluted land and water as a result of military activity is a pressing global issue.”

The new research may also pave the way for new herbicides.

Professor Bruce added: “This is an important additional finding as it is an increasing concern that although herbicide resistance has been increasing steadily since the 1970s, no new herbicide mode of action has been commercialized since the 1980s.”