In 1998, contaminants turned up in well water samples from Beloit to Rhinelander. Some communities removed individual wells from service because water from those wells contained pollutants considered unsafe for drinking. Many of the compounds are threats to human health. Exposure to benzene or TCE, for example, is known to increase the risk of cancer. Efforts to clean up these toxins have cost far more than anticipated and the results have been discouraging.
Conventional methods bring contaminated soil and water to the surface before treating it.
As the limitations of these methods become clearer, experts have become more interested in biological remediation. Bioremediation relies on microbes to destroy hazardous contaminants in place by transforming them into less harmful compounds. Doing what comes naturally Bacteria are the key players in bioremediation, which builds on the role they have played in nature for billions of years. These microscopic organisms live virtually everywhere. They break down complex plant, animal and human waste.