Heptachlor is a polychlorinated cyclodiene insecticide that was extensively used prior to 1970 to kill termites, ants, and soil insects in seed grains and on crops. In 1983, the manufacturers voluntarily cancelled its registered uses, with the exception of termite and fire ant control. Currently, the only permitted use of heptachlor is for fire ant control in buried power transformers; however,...

Mg0/Pd4+ was able to dechlorinate >99% of extractable DDT (initial concentration of 10 mg DDT kg(-1) of soil) and >90% of extractable DDT (initial concentration of 50 mg DDT kg(-1) of soil) in soil slurry. Mg0/Pd4+ was also found to be effective in dechlorinating of 50 mg kg(-1) DDD and DDE, in soil aged for varying time periods. GC-MS analyses revealed the formation of 1,1-diphenylethane as an...

Speciation of arsenic (As) in well water and contaminated soil in the blackfoot disease endemic area has been studied by extended X-ray absorption fine structural (EXAFS) spectroscopy in the present work. Experimentally, we found that arsenic in the well water possessed an As-O bond distance of 1.72 A with a coordination number (CN) of 4.3. In the blackfoot disease area, arsenic with a high oxi...

Volatile organic compound (VOC) data that had already been collected using EPA method TO-15 at four different sites under regulatory scrutiny (a school, strip mall, apartment complex, and business/residential neighborhood) were evaluated to determine whether the source of indoor air benzene was outdoor air or vapor intrusion from contaminated soil. Both the use of tracer organics characteristic...

A solid-state bioprocess with wheat bran and rice husk as substrate was used to isolate filamentous fungi with lipase activity from dairy effluent and soil contaminated with diesel oil. The lipase activity was measured in units, with one unit (U) being defined as the amount of enzyme required to liberate 1 micromol of fatty acids per minute per gram of bran substrate (1 U = 1 micromol min(-1) g...

Biosurfactants have recently gained attention as "green" agents that can be used to enhance the remediation of heavy metals and some organic matter in contaminated soils. The overall objective of this paper was to investigate rhamnolipid, a microbial produced biosurfactant, and its ability to leach uranium present in contaminated soil from an abandoned mine site. Soil samples were collected fro...

Remediation of Bacillus anthracis-contaminated soil is challenging and approaches to reduce overall spore levels in environmentally contaminated soil or after intentional release of the infectious disease agent in a safe, low-cost manner are needed. B. anthracis spores are highly resistant to biocides, but once germinated they become susceptible to traditional biocides or potentially even natur...

Phytoremediation is a promising method for remediation of heavy metals (HMs) contaminated environments. However, the main failures are the limited bioavailabilty of HMs such as lead (Pb) in the soil and/or suppressed plant growth in contaminated sites. These limitations specifically occur in semi-arid zone environments such as calcareous soils. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growt...

Abstract—The contamination of significant quantities of soils and sediments with uranium and other actinide elements as a result of nuclear activity poses many environmental risks. The electrokinetic process is one of the most promising remediation techniques for sludge, sediment, and saturated or unsaturated soils contaminated with heavy metals and radionuclides. However, secondary waste is a ...

The type and amount of organic matter present in industrially contaminated soils will influence the risk they pose. Previous studies have shown the importance of humic and fulvic acids (FAs) (important components of soil organic matter) in increasing the solubility of toxic metals but were not carried out using toxic metal levels and the pH range typical of industrially contaminated soils. This...