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ENHANCED IN SITU BIOREMEDIATION DEMONSTRATED IN FRACTURED BEDROCK IN: GROUND WATER CURRENTS NEWSLETTER, ISSUE 38, P. 2-3, 2000
Citation:
Gallardo*, V. ENHANCED IN SITU BIOREMEDIATION DEMONSTRATED IN FRACTURED BEDROCK IN: GROUND WATER CURRENTS NEWSLETTER, ISSUE 38, P. 2-3, 2000. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, (38), EPA/542/N-00/008, 2000.
Description:
The USEPA's SITE Program conducted a demonstration of the Enhanced In Situ Bioremediation Process at the ITT Industries Night Vision Facility in Roanoke, VA. The biostimulation process, developed by the USEOE and licensed to Earth Tech, Inc., involves injecting a mixture of air, gaseous phase nutrients, and/or methane into contaminated ground water to stimulate and accelerate the growth of existing microbial populations--especially methanotrophs. The methanotrophs produce enzymes that can degrade chlorinated solvents and their break-down products. The ITT facility is an active plant that produces night vision devices and related products. Ground water was contaminated with chlorinated and non-chlorinated volatile organic compounds due to solvent leaks from storage tanks. The site is underlain by a clay-rich overburden atop fractured shale and limestone bedrock at 5 to 10 feet below ground surface. Ground water is generally encountered at the overburden-bedrock interface and in the bedrock fractures. Trichloroethylnene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and their breakdown products exceed Federal Maximum Contaminant Levels.