Innovative biological decontamination of CHC-contaminated groundwater

Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) are environmental contaminants of great concern and pose a grave threat to the eco-system. In Austria, CHC are present at over 50% of registered contaminated sites. The resulting exposure on one hand and the still incomplete knowledge of biological and other natural mechanisms of attenuation (such as conversion and degradation), and migration on the other hand render a thorough investigation, understanding and validation of these processes, designed for the utilization for remediation, an aim of highest environmental relevance. The objective of the present project “InnoSan” is to provide for the scientific foundation for the successful design and implementation of an in situ remediation application based on the procedural and biotechnological support of microbial pollutant breakdown, and to verify its applicability in fieldscale. The required complex ambient conditions for successful biological decontamination are determined first using site material in the laboratory. These are in the following established in an existing, safeguarded and well-characterized industrial site. Extensive monitoring for success quantification and control of the applied measures is obligatory. With the successful realisation of the project “InnoSan” an efficient and environmentally compatible remediation procedure will be available for contractors as well as executing parties, and also accessible to the authorities. The then developed treatment will not only allow for an intensified and cost-efficient remediation but of the test site; it will be publicly available as a procedure which is economically feasible, quick to rate and to dimension also for other CHC-contaminated sites. All results will be made available to the broader public for further unrestricted usage.