Team:DeNovocastrians/Human Practices
Societal Responsibility
Our project was designed with the aim of making the world a cleaner and more sustainable place. To achieve this, genetically modified organisms were designed and used. The use of GMO's has been a heated social debate for many years. There is considerable misinformation in this discourse, the risks associated with using GMO's are low but still needs to be treated with caution.
"Angry, scared person”, by RobinHiggins, licensed under CC0
The release of GMO's into nature can lead to genetic transfer of DNA into closely related wild type species. Additionally, release of these species into the wild can lead to competition with native bacteria causing disruption to ecosystem function. The impacts of these effects have been seen on a larger scale in Australia, where the release of the Cane toad and domestic cats have decimated native populations.
To minimise this risk, all experiments involved with GMO’s were done within a PC2 lab, following the strict guidelines and regulations laid out by OGTR. These regulations include physical containment of all GMO’s in the lab, and treatment of all contaminated materials.
Societal Benefits
This project was designed to improve social and environmental outcomes. Land contamination is not only detrimental to natural ecosystems, it also impacts the humans living in them. This can involve the health impacts caused by exposure to toxic pollutants or fiscal impacts such as the depreciation of land value. Current methods of dealing with benzene polluted soil include relocation, also known as ‘dig and dump’.
This method requires soil to be physically removed by machine and relocate by vehicles making it expensive and polluting. In South Australia, with a population of just 1.6 million people, 87,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were dumped in landfill between 2007/08 – 2011/12. Studies have found it produces over 100x more CO2 than using bioremediation and is considerably more expensive (Merz and Robinson, 2013). One of the obstacles that has prevent the wide-spread adoption of bioremediation is the comparatively longer length of time it requires (Merz and Robinson, 2013).
"Crowd Human Silhouettes”, by Gerd Altmann , licensed under CC0
By improving on existing bioremediation technology, we are building towards bacterial systems that are more efficient at degrading benzene. By developing a faster degradation system, bioremediation can become a more widely used and viable mechanism.
The development of biosensor to detect benzene can also aid this process. The ability to detect benzene allows for the identification of sites that require remediation as well as indicate the progress of the remediation being undertaken. These technologies will consequently lower costs to society, improve land for future generations and provide a healthier environment.
Integrated Human Practices
Through our engagement with government, industry and the community, our project design was significantly improved. To gain a greater understanding of practical considerations in the implementation our technology, we engaged with business in our local area. Firstly, we engaged with Traditional Aussie Gardens, a company which receives government contracts to undertake environmental restoration in the Hunter region. From this, we gained a greater understanding about the current methods used in environmental restoration and the risks associated with it.
We were advised that current strategies are labour intensive with inherent risks including; precarious working conditions, risks of musculoskeletal damage, animal threats, and heat-related illnesses. Through our engagements with Traditional Aussie Gardens, we discovered bioremediation is not a commonly used restoration method in our local area. This is due to two key obstacles; a lack of awareness about bioremediation technology, and, the comparatively slower rate versus traditional methods. Due to this, we changed the focus of our project.
"Rehabilitation of the Newcastle Coastline," by Darcy Kilvert. February 2020, jpg.
Initially, the project was only focused on cloning the benABCD genes. However, after learning that the speed of degradation was an obstacle for the implementation of bioremediation, we decided to clone the benzene transporter (benE) as well. We believe we could increase the uptake rate of benzene from the environment by inducing higher levels of expression of the benE transporter. By cloning the transporter and the degradation genes separately, we could optimise degradative capabilities and engineer a more efficient bacterial system.
"Senior Ecologist Monitoring Rehabilitation Site," By Darcy Kilvert. February 2020, jpg.
During our project, we placed a great emphasis on education and outreach to raise the awareness of bioremediation benefits. As the COVID-19 pandemic prevented face to face engagement, we decided on taking a multi-faceted online approach. We developed a Medium page to post longer-form articles to educate people about bioremediation. This was hugely successful and over 1000 people have read our articles. We also used the social media platforms Twitter, Youtube and Facebook to reach a wider audience and draw attention back to our Medium page. These platforms were viewed by thousands of people and allowed us to conduct online polls to receive feedback from the wider community in terms of their perceptions on pollution, funding, and environmental management.
We also engaged with the company Australian Ecoflora, a company well-versed in genetically modified plants. They gave invaluable knowledge on the risks and process of using GMO’s in real world applications, but also, some of the benefits if implemented correctly. In Australia, the use of GMO's is regulated by the Governmental body- the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR). All genetically modified organisms must be registered with the OGTR before use in practical settings. We decided we needed to engage with Governmental bodies to learn about the process of implementing bioremediation.
We worked with Lake Macquarie and Newcastle City Councils, both local governments administrating our area. From a government standpoint, the use of GMOs has exciting potential benefits. However, the health and well-being of residents is always the top priority. For new genetically modified organisms to be used, there must be adequate testing, assessment and monitoring to ensure there will be no harmful, unintended consequences. We learned implementation of our technology in the future is possible, but must take a regulated process through the necessary bodies.
Through our engagement, we made developments towards a system that could be used in the real world. The feedback we received through the consultation process directed and improved our research. These considerations helped us to work towards developing a safe, practical technology.
References
Merz, S. K. and Robinson, J. (2013). Management of contaminated soils. Report prepared for Green industries SA, Australia.