Geochemical, Genetic, and Physiological Control of Pollutant Biodegradation.
Abstract
This project has merged four-research areas (field geochemistry, sorption chemistry microbiology, and molecular biology) in order to understand the behavior of low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds in a contaminated field site. Naphthalene has been transported approximately 400 m via ground-water flow from buried subsurface coal-tar to an organic matter-rich seep area where the water energies at the foot of a hill at a field study site. Gas chromatographic analyses of cores taken from the sediments show naphthalene concentrations in vertical profiles ranging from 0.9 to 45 ug/cm3. We have tested hypotheses for explaining why naphthalene and phenanthrene persists in seep sediments and found that neither toxicity, nor nutrient limitation, nor the absence of microorganisms or appropriate catabolic genes were the cause of PAH persistence. Despite clear laboratory indications of 02- limited naphthalene metabolism, when H202 was added to site sediments in situ in a randomized block design, no discernible naphthalene loss occurred.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 12, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA294902
Entities
People
- Eugene L. Madsen
- Leonard W. Lion
Organizations
- Cornell University