Using Trees to Clean Up Pollution: M. Cristina Negri

Nuclear energy is a double-edged sword of technological progress, both powerful and perilous. Twenty-five years ago, the explosion of Chernobyl's fourth reactor rendered large swaths of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine uninhabitable. To this day, cleanup and maintenance go on—a lesson Japan is learning in the wake of the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. Agronomist M. Cristina Negri, who helped remove radiation from Chernobyl, reports on her work at Argonne National Laboratory—the effort to develop trees that fight pollution. Gabriel Spitzer, who covers science, health, and the environment for WBEZ, interviews Negri.

This program is presented in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory.