Title:
Microbial Activity in Ground Water at a Chemical Waste Disposal Site
Microbial Activity in Ground Water at a Chemical Waste Disposal Site
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Author(s)
Hwang, Huey-Min
Armstrong, Anthony Q.
Lewis, David L.
Hodson, Robert E.
Armstrong, Anthony Q.
Lewis, David L.
Hodson, Robert E.
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Hatcher, Kathryn J.
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Abstract
Selected ground water microbial processes
were monitored in wells upslope and downslope from a research chemical waste disposal site on the campus of the
University of Georgia. Burial of waste at the site was discontinued by the middle of the 1970's. Recently, it was
determined that ground water at the site contained elevated levels of potentially toxic pollutants such as iron, manganese, benzene, methylene chloride, toluene, and
xylene. Indices of microbial activity (e.g., uptake and mineralization of D-glucose) showed activity to be inhibited
2 to 5 fold in contaminated ground water relative to upslope control. Population switching experiments revealed no
enhanced tolerance to the pollutant mixture of bacteria in the contaminated wells relative to control populations.
However, rates of degradation of toluene, a compound of the pollutant mixture, were >20 fold higher in contaminated ground water than in control ground water, suggesting
adaptation for enhanced degradation for a specific pollutant. Kinetics of toluene degradation by the microbial populations
in the contaminated wells were multiphasic with the kinetic parameters K and V[max] varying widely with substrate concentration. Such kinetic diversity has not been demonstrated previously for pollutant degradation in subsurface waters and has significant implications for modeling pollutant persistence and exposure.
Sponsor
Sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Date Issued
1989-05
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Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Proceedings