Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
Volume 111, Issue 8, Pages 1093-1101Publisher
US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.5840
Keywords
bioavailability; biodegradation; bioremediation; hazardous waste; heavy metals; inhibition; metal toxicity; pollutants
Funding
- NIEHS NIH HHS [P42 ES04940] Funding Source: Medline
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Forty percent of hazardous waste sites in the United States are co-contaminated with organic and metal pollutants. Data from both aerobic and anaerobic systems demonstrate that biodegradation of the organic component can be reduced by metal toxicity. Metal bioavailability, determined primarily by medium composition/soil type and pH, governs the extent to which metals affect biodegradation. Failure to consider bioavailability rather than total metal likely accounts for much of the enormous variability among reports of inhibitory concentrations of metals. Metals appear to affect organic biodegradation through impacting both the physiology and ecology of organic degrading microorganisms. Recent approaches to increasing organic biodegradation in the presence of metals involve reduction of metal bioavailability and include the use of metal-resistant bacteria, treatment additives, and clav minerals. The addition of divalent cations and adjustment of pH are additional strategies currently under investigation.
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