Trapping Nuclear Waste – Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a new synthetic material that soaks up the elusive radioactive ion cesium. The material, composed from layers of a gallium, sulfur and antimony compound, traps the hazardous ion while ignoring other harmless ions like sodium that are also found in liquid nuclear waste. Until this point, cesium removal has been incredibly difficult because nuclear waste has much higher concentrations of sodium ions than cesium ions (with ratios as great as 1,000-to-1). The material may mean big things for the future of nuclear waste remediation.
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2010/01/flytrap.html