Impacts
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Prince William Sound, Alaska
While carrying more the 50 million gallons of crude oil, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef and released roughly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound over several days in March 23, 1989.
Bioremediation took part in the oil spill cleanup. By adding fertilizers to enhance the growth of bacteria already present in the environment, bacteria that can naturally degrade certain toxic hydrocarbons in oil were able to be used to optimize cleanup. A1,A2
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
London, England
After hundreds of years of industrial activity, bioremediation was applied to the grounds of London’s Olympic Park. A bioremediation technique where archaeal microbes broke down ammonia into harmless nitrogen gas cleaned 1.7 million cubic metres of heavily polluted soil and groundwater polluted with ammonia just in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games “as the ‘greenest’ and most sustainable games ever had.” A3,A4
Adak Island
Aleutian Island chain, Alaska
Petroleum-contaminated soil was placed in a bioremediation pile. The natural bioremediation process was enhanced by an oxygen and nutrient addition system to stimulate microbial activity. Despite the harsh weather on the island, after the first 6 months of operation, laboratory analyses of soil samples indicated a significant (80%) reduction in diesel concentrations. A5,A6
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Gulf of Mexico
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill added roughly 800 million liters of hydrocarbons to the Gulf of Mexico. With microbial remediation, an estimated 100 sextillion microbial cells of ethane-consuming Colwellia, aromatic-eating Cycloclasticus, alkane-eating Oceanospirillales, oil-eating Alcanovorax, methane-loving Methylococcaceae and other species help to clean the oil spill and chew through the hydrocarbons. A7,A8,A9