Microbe Seen as Breakthrough for fast, Affordable Groundwater Treatment

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Microbe Seen as Breakthrough for fast, Affordable Groundwater Treatment

Discovery reveals agent to neutralize most difficult contaminants at many

industrial and military sites

SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, Aug. 5 -/E-Wire/-- With environmental scientists looking increasingly toward bioremediation as an effective and low-cost answer to groundwater pollution problems, scientists at Georgia Tech in Atlanta have isolated the first bacterium proven to destroy dichloroethenes (DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC), major subsurface contaminants at many industrial and military sites worldwide. Marketed and now commercially available from Regenesis as Bio-Dechlor INOCULUM(tm), these dechlorinating microbes are expected to offer a rapid, low-cost cleanup tool for thousands of sites with contaminated groundwater resulting from incomplete biodegradation.

Widely used for decades by dry cleaners and in industry for stripping, cleaning and degreasing operations, chlorinated solvents such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) and their toxic breakdown products (DCE and VC) have been found at about a third of all Superfund sites nationwide. In 1998 Regenesis introduced Hydrogen-Release Compound (HRC(r)), which proved to be a groundbreaking technology that produced rapid in-situ degradation of chlorinated solvents as well as a wide range of other contaminants. HRC is a controlled-release polylactate ester specifically formulated to facilitate the degradation of chlorinated compounds in contaminated aquifers. Upon the injection and hydration of HRC, naturally occurring microbes utilize the newly available hydrogen to effectively replace chlorine atoms (in chlorinated compounds). This process, known as "reductive dechlorination," sequentially dechlorinates chlorinated contaminants in a series of reductive steps to harmless end products such as ethene or ethane.

After the examination of field results from cleanups of chlorinated solvents, Regenesis and many other bioremediation experts noticed that at some sites the reduction process proved to be incomplete or unacceptably slow, in some cases leaving behind toxic intermediate compounds, particularly the human carcinogen vinyl chloride. Eventually linked to the lack of indigenous species capable to degrade these harmful intermediates, the search for microbes that could "complete" the dechlorination process to benign products was placed on high priority for researchers in the field.

As leaders in the field of accelerated bioremediation, Regenesis had documented the issues it had observed with incomplete dechlorination and was poised for an opportunity to be involved in an effective solution. With assistance from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, and Regenesis researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, led by microbiologist Frank Loeffler, Ph.D., were able to isolate a naturally occurring bacterium that completely breaks down the chlorinated compounds of major concern (i.e., DCE and VC) into the desired harmless end products. Their work was published in an article in the July 3 issue of the highly respected journal Nature.

The microbe was discovered several years ago in soil from a dry-cleaning site in Michigan. Known as isolate BAV1, it is a disk-shaped organism with peculiar filament-like appendages, which Dr. Loeffler speculates may help the organism to colonize contaminated subsurface environments. BAV1stimulates the rapid, complete restoration of sites where DCE and VC remain a pressing major problem.

In a successful pilot demonstration, described in the Nature paper and in a February 2003 article in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology, a mixed culture containing BAV1 was tested in an area where PCE had penetrated the water table and contaminated drinking-water wells. The PCE was was partly dechlorinated but dechlorination stalled at DCE. Following inoculation of a culture containing organism BAV1 into the contaminated zone, the toxic compounds were completely dechlorinated to ethene within six weeks, leading the researchers to conclude, "This type of organism might be useful for cleaning contaminated subsurface environments and restoring drinking-water reservoirs."

Realizing the benefits of this microbe and its ability to accelerate complete bioremediation at many sites worldwide, Regenesis worked closely with Dr. Loeffler to make it commercially available as Bio-Dechlor INOCULUM(tm). Sold by the liter and easily injected into the subsurface, this inoculum offers environ-mental consultants and their clients the ability to speed up site remediation at a relatively low-cost.

In addition, in a collaborative effort the Georgia Tech researchers also designed a new genetic assay technique, available from Regenesis as Bio-Dechlor CensusSM, for the sensitive detection and quantitative enumeration of BAV1-like organisms. This quantitative information allows environmental professionals to quickly determine if a contaminated site contains naturally occurring BAV1 to result in natural biodegradation, and if not, to reliably monitor the success of augmentation with Bio-Dechlor Inoculum(tm). More information on both products is available online at www.regenesis.com/products/bd_inoculum.

Incorporated in 1994, Regenesis is the world's leading developer and distributor of products used to accelerate bioremediation. Regenesis patented products include Oxygen Release Compound (ORC(r)) for remediation of aerobically degradable hydrocarbons; Hydrogen Release Compound (HRC(r)), for treatment of anaerobically degradable compounds, and Hydrogen Release Compound, Extended Release Formula (HRC-X(tm) ) (patent pending) for the long-term treatment of residual source areas and DNAPLs. Bio-Dechlor Inoculum(tm) and Bio-Dechlor CensusSM are the company's newest offerings. For further information, or to arrange a free evaluation for the use of any Regenesis product at their contaminated site, readers are invited to contact Mr. Bryan W. Vigue at [REDACTED-PHONE] or by email at [REDACTED-EMAIL].

Salwen Business Communications

[REDACTED-EMAIL].

http://http://www.regenesis.com/products/bd_inoculum

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