Artist Irene Rasmussen is behind the yellow flowers in the Norwegian border town. – The aim was to see how much metals the plants could pull up from the ground in Kirkenes, she says. Here Irene Rasmussen’s “super plants” are harvested in Kirkenes. In the project “From Seed to Sim”, she explores how sunflowers and mustard plants can help correct natural damage. Photo: The girls at the bridge The idea came after a visit to the neighboring Russian town of Nikel, where she got herself an alarm clock. There, nature has been affected by several decades of emissions from the now closed smelter. – Here I got to experience the pollution up close, it made an impression. Among other things, blueberries grew up from black moss, says Rasmussen. The smoke from the high chimneys of the Nickel Factory often hovered over Sør-Varanger, which formed the basis for the major environmental campaign “Stop the clouds of death”. Sunflowers can clean soil After the trip in Russia, Rasmussen investigated a well-known theory that plants can absorb heavy metals. A test trial was first initiated in Tromsø. – During the growing season, the sunflower plants that were grown in the contaminated soil had reduced their lead content by 10 per cent. Rasmussen was thus able to confirm the theory that sunflowers can help to clean the soil. Rasmussen’s collaboration with the cultural collective “Pikene på Broen”, in addition, the local population was also invited. Photo: Evgenia Bektasova / Pikene på Broen This is how the process works: The method Irene Rasmussen uses is called phytoremediation. It involves using plants to clean contaminated soil, air or water. Plants have an ability to absorb minerals including heavy metals, and they have enzymes that break down the foreign substances in the soil. SOURCE: University of Oslo Created own garden close to mining company Due to the pandemic, she was only able to implement the main project in Kirkenes, and not in both Kirkenes and Nikel as intended. In 2021, Rasmussen therefore established the “Sepverkhagen” in the center of Kirkenes, close to Sydvaranger Mine. 400 “super plants”, mustard and sunflower plants, were planted here. The result: The flowers were able to absorb 13 grams of heavy metals. These lumps of metal have been caught by the flowers. The researchers at NTNU have melted it from liquid to solid form. Photo: Privat Gets massive praise Gabriella Tranell, professor at NTNU, Department of Materials Technology, is happy that Rasmussen is doing this. – It’s so positive, I was so happy when she contacted us and asked about collaboration. She inspires us to further develop this. NTNU has worked closely with the artist, among other things, by extracting the heavy metal that the plants have collected. Gabriella Tranell, professor at NTNU, Department of Materials Technology, is happy about the artist’s commitment and says this can contribute to the big picture. Photo: Private – We melt it together into a lump called “plant iron”, we do this to illustrate how much heavy metals the plants capture, says Tranell. Rasmussen hopes that others will benefit from her art project and plant their own “super plants” to help the environment. – If more people use this, we can together help make a difference. It is used in several places in the world, but not in Norway, so it can help make a big difference. Here you can see how the process took place: The sunflowers planted in contaminated soil absorb hazardous waste and leave fresh soil behind. Photo: Evgenia Bektasova / Pikene på Broen When the sunflowers have absorbed the polluted material from the ground, they wither and die. From here they must be handled at a waste facility for destruction or sent to a laboratory for further examination. Photo: Oleg Khadartsev / Pikene på Broen Irene Rasmussen, together with NTNU, has produced “plant iron” from the substances that plants have absorbed. Photo: Oleg Khadartsev / Pikene på Broen The experiment is now finished and the results can be experienced at Irene Rasmussen’s exhibition until 20 May 2023.
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Sunflowers absorbed metals from contaminated soil in Sør-Varanger – news Troms and Finnmark
