Would you buy a GMO houseplant that could really scrub your air of pollutants?

I=92m Stuart Strand, Research Professor at the University of Washington in = Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of Hea= lth, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successfully= designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and water. = Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your house.

The air in your home may have more benzene and chloroform (two cancer causi= ng pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park your c= ar in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and chloro= form to your home air.=20

Rabbits have an enzyme in their liver (2E1) that grabs onto chloroform and = benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have lab= plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 times f= aster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enzyme = and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos plants = to protect your family.

Ordinary plants have some ability to clean the air, but the amount of folia= ge required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundreds of= plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few plant= s per room. If you=92re interested, take a look at our project website, =20

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Reply to
Stuart Strand
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Please explain where the benzene and chloroform gets into my showerhead and what concentration in the house air might develop from this practice and how that relates to the safety standards.

Which is quite impractical or even impossible for most people.

you invoke the boogieman of danger to children. This idea tells us to buy special products to sterilise the inside of our toilet bowls and every surface in our house and to have a machine on the wall that pumps out perfume/insecticide/ bactericide all day at timed intervals.

Now I would much prefer to house full of plants to splashing chemicals everywhere but I am doing neither until both the need and efficacy is demonstrated. Your web site seems devoid of both.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of Health, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successfully designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and water. Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your house.

pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park your car in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and chloroform to your home air.

benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have lab plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 times faster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enzyme and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos plants to protect your family.

required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundreds of plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few plants per room.

Not on my budget. I see on net that some plants are better than others. I'd go for them if so inclined but I'm not. I'm not afraid of < a ppb of any common chemical in the air I breathe.

Reply to
Frank

The chloroform is in all municipal drinking water that has been disinfected= with chlorine to prevent water borne disease (such as cholera). Chlorofor= m is formed from the reaction of the chlorine with natural compounds (humic= s) are present in almost all waters. Chloroform is volatile, meaning that i= t comes out of the water into the air when you use hot water in your home. = So you and your kids breathe this carcinogen.

Benzene comes from different sources in the home, not the shower (please re= ad the FAQ!): cars parked in attached garages, fuel storage in the home, so= lvents, paints, even inks, woodstoves, and -- the big one -- second hand sm= oke.

Studies of volatile carcinogenic pollutants in the air in urban homes aroun= d the world including the US found levels that ranged into the regulated le= vels for benzene and chloroform and for formaldehyde (which our GMO does no= t degrade). for citations see the full proposal on our website. So most ho= mes were below the workspace regulatory levels, but consider this: children= and their adult caretakers spend nearly all of their time in these environ= ments with these low level known carcinogens. These exposures are important= .

=20

Our children are precious

This idea tells us to buy=20

Dear David, If you live with chlorinated water, when you shower you fill yo= ur home air with chloroform. If you store your snow-blower or lawnmower or= park your car in your garage you "splash" benzene into the air that your f= amily breathes. Please read our website, especially the FAQ, to really unde= rstand these important issues and how our new technology can provide some r= elief.

Reply to
Stuart Strand

in Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of= Health, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successf= ully designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and wat= er. Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your hous= e.

ausing pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park yo= ur car in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and ch= loroform to your home air.

and benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have= lab plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 tim= es faster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enz= yme and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos pla= nts to protect your family.

oliage required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundred= s of plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few p= lants per room.

Yeah, Frank, but I'll bet that you're not as susceptible to those common kn= own carcinogens as the babies that spend all of their time breathing those = common home air pollutants.

Reply to
Stuart Strand

Exactly the same emotive motherhood and apple pie statement as any salesman would make. I thought that you were a scientist.

I don't. But for those who do how much chloroform and how much is dangerous? Your FAQ has no numbers.

If you store your snow-blower or

I read it and if you had read my questions you would know the FAQ doesn't address them. Until you provide evidence that there is a significant risk I won't be giving you money to develop a product to deal with it. So far you are still in the same category as those who want to charge me money to turn my toilet water blue.

D
Reply to
David Hare-Scott

If you have any information that that chloroform, or benzene reach toxic levels in homes, you should share it.

  1. === Toxicological Information ===

Toxicological Data: Chloroform: oral rat LD50: 908 mg/kg; skin rabbit LD50: > 20 gm/kg; inhalation rat LC50: 47702 mg/m3/4H; irritation data: skin rabbit 10 mg/24H open mild; eye rabbit: 20 mg/24H moderate; investigated as a tumorigen, mutagen, reproductive effector. Reproductive Toxicity: Birth defects have been seen in rats and mice exposed by inhalation of chloroform at concentrations greater than 100 ppm in air. Ingestion of chloroform by pregnant laboratory animals has resulted in fetotoxicity but not birth defects, and only at levels causing severe maternal effects.

--------\Cancer Lists\------------------------------------------------------ ---NTP Carcinogen--- Ingredient Known Anticipated IARC Category ------------------------------------ ----- -----------

------------- Chloroform (67-66-3) No Yes 2B Ethyl Alcohol (64-17-5) No No None

From your presumed website:

[W]e have expressed mammalian cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) in plants, achieving orders of magnitude greater oxidation of trichloroethylene in transgenic poplar. We are presently engaged in testing trichloroethylene degradation by wild-type and CYP2E1 transgenic poplar at field scale in a test bed facility capable of mass balance measurements. We are also studying the pathways and genetics of volatile organic compounds metabolism in plants, and to developing new applications for genetically modified phytoremediation.

It seems that you are far from your goals, and have over stated your case.

Reply to
Billy

Dear David (and Billy),

Sorry to be delayed in replying. I wanted to give you a summary of the latest research, so I had to bring myself up to speed with recent meta-analyses of the growing home air pollution literature. Also the holidays got in the way. =20

Anyway I have posted a short summary (pdf) with citations on the SuperPotho s website (in the Gallery tab), titled "Levels and risks of indoor air pollutants"

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In summary, the most common and highest level cancer-causing organic indoor air pollutants are 1,4-dichlorobenzene, acrolein, formaldehyde, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde, naphthalene, acrylonitrile, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform. In most or some homes, these pollutants occur in concentrations high enough to pose significant risk of cancer. Most of these pollutants can be degraded by the cytochrome P450 2E1 enzyme that we have expressed in lab plants and wish to express in SuperPothos enhanced houseplant.

Reply to
Stuart Strand

Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of Health, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successfully designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and water. Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your house.

causing pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park your car in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and chloroform to your home air.

benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have lab plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 times faster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enzyme and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos plants to protect your family.

foliage required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundreds of plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few plants per room.

carcinogens as the babies that spend all of their time breathing those common home air pollutants.

Maybe. I'm a retired chemist and have been exposed to more of these things then the average person and, so far, am cancer free.

I understand that we chemists live longer than average - must be all those chemicals.

Reply to
Frank

n Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of H= ealth, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successful= ly designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and water= . Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your house.

sing pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park your= car in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and chlo= roform to your home air.=20

d benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have l= ab plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 times= faster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enzym= e and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos plant= s to protect your family.

iage required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundreds = of plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few pla= nts per room.

Reply to
jonalisa1

Frank wrote: ...

anyone who claims to be a scientist should understand the errors in your statement.

on so many levels...

songbird

Reply to
songbird

thanks

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This URL gives me a 403 error, security.

D
Reply to
David Hare-Scott

n known carcinogens as the babies that spend all of their time breathing th= ose common home air pollutants.

Frank, back in the day I knew chemists who routinely smoked in the lab; you= could tell because there were lots of burn marks along the edge of the lab= bench. And these were organic chemists, with flammable solvent bubbling a= way in the nearby hood! LOL! But they would assure me that, no worries: th= ey hadn't been blown up yet. =20

If you are a scientist, you should read the literature on toxicology and no= t spout nonsense.

Reply to
Stuart Strand

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OK, sorry about the confusion. Two options:

  1. Try this URL:
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    Go to the indiegogo website, click on the gallery tab and download the pdf labeled "Levels_of_indoor_air_pollutants"

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Reply to
Stuart Strand

n Seattle. For 20 years, our lab, supported by the National Institutes of H= ealth, Dept of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, has successful= ly designed plants that clean up pollutants in contaminated soils and water= . Now we want to create house plants that can purify the air in your house.

sing pollutants) than is allowed in the workplace. Every time you park your= car in an attached garage or take a shower you are adding benzene and chlo= roform to your home air.=20

d benzene and gets oxygen from the air to burn up the pollutants. We have l= ab plants with the 2E1 gene that can remove chloroform and benzene 20 times= faster than the untransformed plants. Now we want to take the rabbit enzym= e and put it into a common houseplant, pothos ivy, making SuperPothos plant= s to protect your family.

iage required to have a significant impact on pollutants would be hundreds = of plants per room! SuperPothos plants could do the job with only a few pla= nts per room.

groups?

Reply to
Stuart Strand

Only to a binary group which rec.gadens isn't.

D
Reply to
David Hare-Scott

Too bad. Will one of the other options work ?

Reply to
Stuart Strand

known carcinogens as the babies that spend all of their time breathing those common home air pollutants.

could tell because there were lots of burn marks along the edge of the lab bench. And these were organic chemists, with flammable solvent bubbling away in the nearby hood! LOL! But they would assure me that, no worries: they hadn't been blown up yet.

spout nonsense.

Maybe I am being flippant but I'm probably in the upper 1% of those with a knowledge of toxicology.

I had lunch with a government official one day that told me he did not want a single molecule of a chlorine containing compound in his glass of water. I did not have the time or inclination to teach him about Avogadro's number.

Those that practice chemo-phobia on the uninitiated try to scare them by telling them of the nasties in their air, food and drink even though they are present in quantities far below where they can cause any harm.

You won't be selling your plants to me ;)

Reply to
Frank

mon known carcinogens as the babies that spend all of their time breathing = those common home air pollutants.

you could tell because there were lots of burn marks along the edge of the= lab bench. And these were organic chemists, with flammable solvent bubbli= ng away in the nearby hood! LOL! But they would assure me that, no worries= : they hadn't been blown up yet.

d not spout nonsense.

I'm sure not going to change your mind, but others less opinionated might w= ant to learn about very real risks associated with indoor air pollutants by= reading this short review of the scientific studies of these pollutants:

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Reply to
Stuart Strand

products. One to remove benzene and chloroform. and another to remove chloroform, benzene, carbon tetrachloride and styrene. What, no aldehyde removal for our FEMA trailer homes? What are suggested levels for these toxins, and what are their household levels typically? Yeah, I could look it up, but you are the one doing the selling. Sell me.

A little quantification would also be nice. Compared to other house plants, like a natural pothos, with equal surface areas, at STP, how much time is required to remove a given amount of benzene, or chloroform from the test area?

Do you realize that a cytochrome P450 2E1 enhanced tobacco plant would be of little interest to gardeners (as a house plant?) because of the mosaic tobacco virus? Removing chloroform, benzene, carbon tetrachloride and styrene from the home environment is a desirable action, but removing the sources of this contamination may be more practical.

Lastly, please don't try to dissuade Frank from smoking around open containers of ether.

Reply to
Billy

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