Superfund Research Program
- 332 - Improving How Microbes Break Down PFAS -- Men
Release Date: 08/03/2022NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees demonstrated a method to break down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into smaller, non-toxic molecules. Led by Yujie Men, Ph.D., of the University of California, Riverside, the team also showed that some types of PFAS can be more easily degraded than others.
- 330 - Study Sheds Light on Breakdown Products of PCBs in the Environment -- Hornbuckle
Release Date: 06/01/2022NIEHS Superfund Research program (SRP) grantees discovered toxic breakdown products of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in contaminated sediments at proportionally higher levels than found in commercial PCB mixtures. According to the team, these findings point to environmental processes, such as metabolism by animals, plants, or bacteria, in generating the harmful chemicals.
- 308 - Using Fungi to Clean up Contaminated Soil -- Gunsch
Release Date: 08/05/2020Native fungal communities point to a new way of cleaning up contaminated soil. After conducting a study to characterize fungi found in soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), researchers at the NIEHS-funded Superfund Research Program at Duke University discovered a group of fungi that may be promising for remediation.
- 305 - Arsenic Complicates Groundwater Bioremediation -- Alvarez-Cohen
Release Date: 05/06/2020A common groundwater contaminant, trichloroethene (TCE), can be reduced by certain bacteria, a process known as bioremediation. But, according to a new NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) study, this process may stall when arsenic is present. TCE, a widely used industrial solvent, pollutes groundwater from improper handling practices.
- 292 - Nitrous Oxide Halts Breakdown of Chlorinated Compounds -- Loeffler
Release Date: 04/03/2019A new Superfund Research Program (SRP) study showed that nitrous oxide (N2O), a groundwater contaminant commonly generated from agricultural runoff, inhibits bacterial degradation of certain chlorinated contaminants, including tetrachloroethene (PCE). The study may explain why bioremediation, or the use of bacteria to break down compounds, can stall at some hazardous waste sites.
- 286 - Siderophores Reduce Asbestos Toxicity in Soil -- Willenbring, Christofidou-Solomidou
Release Date: 10/03/2018Researchers have discovered that natural compounds released from bacteria and fungi in soil, known as siderophores, can decrease the toxicity of asbestos fibers. According to the authors, their results support the feasibility of asbestos bioremediation, or using organisms such as bacteria to degrade contaminants at waste sites.
- 276 - Novel Cobamide Structure May Hold Clues for More Effective Biological Degradation of Chlorinated Compounds -- Loeffler
Release Date: 12/06/2017Researchers at the University of Tennessee have discovered a crucial compound that helps specific bacteria degrade pollutants like tetrachloroethene (PCE). This compound, called purinyl-cobamide, assists enzymes during degradation reactions.
- 266 - Using Surfactants to Enhance Bioremediation of PAHs in Soil -- Aitken
Release Date: 02/01/2017A second-stage treatment using low levels of surfactants, which are commonly used as dispersing agents, may be a promising method to maximize removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at hazardous waste sites, according to findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center. Researchers identified specific surfactants that enhanced the removal of PAHs from previously treated soil by making the chemicals more accessible for degradation by bacteria.
- 260 - Identifying Mechanisms for Regulating Gas Exchange in Plants -- Schroeder
Release Date: 08/03/2016Superfund Research Program (SRP) researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are identifying important mechanisms that plants use to respond to changes in the environment. They recently discovered molecular mechanisms that enhance the activity of proteins essential to closing stomata, or pores found on the surface of leaves, in response to environmental stressors.
- 259 - Phytostabilization of Mine Tailings with Compost-Assisted Direct Planting -- Maier
Release Date: 07/06/2016Amending mine waste with compost is a viable and promising alternative to the expensive process of covering an entire site with a thick soil or rock cap followed by seeding, according to research from the University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) Center. The trial was based on successful results from preliminary greenhouse studies, which scaled effectively to the field.
- 255 - The Effect of Corrinoid Co-factors on Bioremediation of Chlorinated Compounds -- Loeffler
Release Date: 03/02/2016Specific modifications to helper molecules, or co-factors, play an important role in how efficiently some bacteria can degrade toxic chlorinated pollutants. In a new study, researchers from the University of Tennessee found that specific chemical modifications to corrinoid co-factors, a group of molecules that includes vitamin B12, can affect how well bacteria degrade chlorinated pollutants such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE). These findings could help improve cleanup of chlorinated contaminants at hazardous waste sites.
- 222 - Remediation of PCB Contaminated Sediment by Bioaugmentation -- Sowers, May
Release Date: 06/05/2013A new way to reduce hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by bioaugmentation, the addition of microorganisms to degrade contaminants, could be an effective and environmentally sustainable strategy to decrease the amount of PCBs in polluted sediment.
- 197 - Poplars are Choosy about PCBs -- Schnoor
Release Date: 05/04/2011Could trees be the world's biggest vacuum cleaners? Scientists study how poplar trees help clean up some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and reduce the risk of human exposures.
- 196 - Nanoparticles Enhance Imaging of Intracellular Bioreduction of Chromate -- Irudayaraj
Release Date: 04/06/2011Researchers send tiny gold balls into bacterial cells on a mission to reveal how the cells process Chromium (VI). The bacteria's ability to transform this harmful metal to a less toxic form could make it an important ally in cleaning up Superfund sites.
- 182 - Can Phytoremediation Work for PCBs? -- Schnoor
Release Date: 02/03/2010A study offers the first evidence that whole plants can take up and metabolize polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), suggesting plants could be used to help clean up PCB-contaminated sites.
- 156 - Enhanced Phytoremediation of Volatile Environmental Pollutants -- Strand, Doty
Release Date: 12/05/2007 - 155 - Assessing Bioremediation of Chloroethenes through Stable Carbon Isotope Fractionation -- Alvarez-Cohen
Release Date: 11/07/2007 - 139 - MTBE Biodegradation by Methylibium petroleiphilum gen. nov, sp. nov., a methylotroph of the Betaproteobacteria (formerly known as PM-1) -- Chang, Hristova, Scow
Release Date: 07/05/2006 - 134 - Biodegradation of Simple Chemical Mixtures in Soil -- Donnelly
Release Date: 02/01/2006 - 119 - Novel Applications of Microbially-Produced Surfactants -- Maier
Release Date: 11/02/2004 - 110 - Resistance to Heavy Metals - a Possible Tool for Phytoremediation -- Schroeder
Release Date: 02/06/2004 - 109 - Quantifying Enhanced In Situ TCE Biodegradation -- Field
Release Date: 01/07/2004 - 93 - Monitoring In Situ Bioremediation of TCE -- Alvarez-Cohen
Release Date: 09/11/2002 - 91 - The Role of Bacteria in Bioremediation of Metals -- Tebo
Release Date: 07/03/2002 - 82 - Microbial Degradation of PCBs -- Tiedje
Release Date: 10/03/2001 - 77 - Modeling the Biodegradation of Contaminant Mixtures -- Reardon
Release Date: 05/02/2001 - 73 - Plant Root Exudates Facilitate Phytoremediation -- Shann
Release Date: 01/03/2001 - 70 - Distribution of Microorganisms in Biofilms Surrounding Soil Particles -- Bishop
Release Date: 10/04/2000 - 69 - Anaerobic Transformations and Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents -- Ferguson
Release Date: 09/06/2000 - 31 - Bioremediation of Groundwater Contaminated with Carbon Tetrachloride -- Dybas, Criddle
Release Date: 10/14/1998 - 26 - Microbial Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Mixtures -- Warshawsky
Release Date: 08/05/1998 - 22 - The Role of Bacterial Gene Transfer In Cleaning-Up Metal and Organic Contaminated Soils -- Gandolfi, Fernando
Release Date: 06/10/1998 - 16 - The Use of Poplar Trees to Remediate Chlorinated Organic Contaminants -- Strand
Release Date: 03/18/1998 - 9 - Scientists Investigate the Properties and Structure of Biofilm Treatment Systems -- Bishop
Release Date: 11/26/1997 - 4 - Use of Microbial Surfactants for Enhanced Removal of Metals from Contaminated Soils -- Maier
Release Date: 09/17/1997