TROY, N.Y., March 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have discovered a bacterium that might transform the way we remove polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from the environment.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers say the organism they discovered might become the key to developing methods that help detoxify commercial PCB compounds on site, without need for dredging.
Commercial PCBs were banned from most production in the United States in 1977 because of their toxicity and persistent chemical stability in the environment. To date, the most commonly used method to remove PCBs from the environment is to dredge and then deposit the sediments in a landfill.
In order to detoxify PCBs the strong bonds between the chlorine atoms and the biphenyl compounds that make up the PCB atomic structure need to be broken, a process known as dechlorination.
"For the first time we have been able to cultivate ... naturally occurring bacteria that can extensively dechlorinate PCBs right at the site of the contamination," said Professor Donna Bedard, lead author of the study. "This is a major step toward the development of cost-effective methods for on-site PCB remediation."
The research will appear in the April 15 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
