This is intriguing. I've heard that scientists have a type of algae that can eat the radiation from Fukushima right out of the Pacific Ocean too, but politics is getting in the way.
Besides lead, I wonder what other contaminants moss can remove from water, and I wonder what other plants can remove other metals and contaminants. I know there are nutrition enthusiasts who eat specific plants and herbs to leach toxins (including arsenic) out of their own bodies. I can just see us all setting up 1 household hydroponic water filtration system to clean the water, (but don't eat those plants!), and a 2nd household hydroponic garden system to grow the plants to eat for our own health.
As YouTuber David Seaman said a couple weeks ago, when discussing his water filters that take out fluoride - "If you don't use a water filter, you ARE the water filter!"
Yeah, you're right about the radiation-eating algae Closterium moniliferum. It's actually very interesting, and I want to make a post about them in the future, because this is a really unique feature for a biological organism to have.
It would be very interesting to find out if other mosses are able to remove other heavy metals. The one in the article was only good at removing lead, and very small amounts of gold, but I don't think anyone have problems with too much gold in their drinking water. I would definitely like to see someone make a complete household hydroponic water filtration! That would be very cool.
That's a nice quote regarding water filters :)
Best regards from @valth