Microbiology of a coal-tar disposal site: A preliminary assessment

Technical Report · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5657119

Madsen, E L; Levine, S N; Ghiorse, W C ^[1]

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1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA). Dept. of Microbiology

This report contains results of microbiological characterization of a buried coal-tar disposal site located in the Northeastern United States. Objectives were: (1) Collect aquifer sediment samples at various depths from several locations and measure the abundance of microorganisms. (2) Conduct laboratory experiments to examine microbial mineralization of polyaromatic hydrocarbon components of the coal tar (phenanthrene and naphthalene). (3) Correlate the physical and chemical properties of the sediments with the abundance of microorganisms and their biodegradation activity. These objectives were addressed experimentally by combining measurements of site characteristics (coal-tar constituents, temperature, pH, oxygen and nutrient levels, and particle size analysis) with microbiological assays performed on sediments sampled from both inside and outside of the groundwater plume on three occasions (June 1988; April 1989, and September 1989). The microorganisms present and their abundance and distribution generally resembled those at other, previously examined, shallow aquifer sites. Regardless of proximity to the contaminant plume, p-hydroxybenzoate mineralization was observed in sediments from unsaturated, water table, and saturated zone depths. By contrast, up to approximately 20% of the naphthalene and phenanthrene were mineralized by microorganisms in samples from inside, but not outside, the plume area. Increased numbers of protozoa found within the plume area coincided with higher rates of mineralization activity. 24 refs., 3 figs., 20 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Dept. of Microbiology
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5657119
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EN-7319
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010800* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Waste Management
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110
540210 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (1990-)
550700 -- Microbiology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AQUIFERS
AROMATICS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIODEGRADATION
CARBON 14
CARBON ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL TAR
CONDENSED AROMATICS
CORRELATIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GROUND WATER
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MANAGEMENT
MICROORGANISMS
MINERALIZATION
NAPHTHALENE
NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHENANTHRENE
POLLUTION
RADIOISOTOPES
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOILS
TAR
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER
WATER QUALITY
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES