GENERAL SECTION

Bacteria Eat Ground Water and
Soil Contaminants

INTRODUCTION
Virtually all manufacturing companies need to use some form of industrial chemical, directly or indirectly, during production. Even under the best conditions these materials can be lost to the environment. As a result, hydrocarbons such as oil and grease, ethyl benzene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and many others have been found in ground water and soil. To protect these natural resources and public health, many hydrocarbon contaminants are regulated under one or more laws that require cleanup of the contamination, sometimes at high costs to the user of the chemicals.

Now those remediation costs can be greatly reduced. Bioremediation, the use of bacteria to degrade contaminants, has been in use since the late 1980’s. An increased understanding of the microbes involved and their metabolic processes has recently turned the spotlight on this technology. The realization that bioremediation can be the low cost solutions has pushed the use of bioremediation to new heights. The ability to apply without moving the contaminated media and the limited hazard exposure to workers makes bioremediation even more appealing.

Researchers have isolated bacteria from sites contaminated with industrial and commercial hydrocarbons across the United States. These strains of bacteria, called Petrox, have a proven ability to quickly degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, organic solvents, semivolatile hydrocarbons, and chlorinated aromatic hydro-carbons. For example, oil field production wastes, at a site in southeast, were degraded by 30 % within
30 days. In laboratory studies ethyl benzene was completely degraded, xylene was degraded by 89%, and methyl ethyl ketone was degraded by 85%. Pentachlorophenol was degraded by 35%. Degradation rates are often higher in the field.

Petrox is a patented, specialty product comprised of live microorganisms. The microorganisms are non-pathogenic and field stable. Since Petrox was isolated from contaminated sites the microbes have been in contact with a variety of common hydrocarbon chemicals. As a result, they have developed the ability to break these hydrocarbons into non-toxic products, carbon dioxide and water. Petrox is available through
Cl Solutions, the exclusive distributor of this and other bioremediation products.

SUMMARY
Bioremediation can provide cost-effective, efficient cleanup of soil or ground water contaminated with various hydrocarbons. For more information, please contact Michelle Broyles or Mike Saul at
(513) 489-2255 or toll free at (800) 227-1443 or through e-mail at mlb@paynefirm.com or mts@paynefirm.com.