Many communities have brownfields, ranging from abandoned corner gas stations, to manufacturing districts, like the former steel mill sites in south Chicago which make up over 1000 acres of unproductive land in the city. Faculty at UIC bring a breadth of expertise for brownfield remediation ranging from microbiologic techniques for insitu digestion of contaminants to policy assessments on the benefits of public participation in clean up. Environmental hazards of heavy metals in soils can be mitigated by introducing sulfate-reducing bacteria. In well aerated soils this bacteria promotes the reduction of metals, such as chromium and uranium, to relatively inert sulfide or hydroxide precipitate, which effectively immobilizes the free metals. This microbiologic approach has broad application, especially if combined with electrokinetic techniques which allow deeper penetration of bacteria into low permeability soils.
Bacterial cultures are also useful for neutralizing organochlorine contaminants, like PCEs.
Varying the conditions of oxygenation in the soil, from aerobic to anaerobic favors a series of bacterial reactions that dechlorinate contaminants and form less toxic precipitates. This inquiry assess the differential impact of brownfield cleanup in Indiana and Illinois, with Indiana requiring public participation and Illinois does not. The ultimate goal is to assist community groups, state and local governments to identify beneficial public participation to accelerate brownfield remediation. An internship program will provide practical experience. The multidisciplinary nature of the major is reflected in both individual courses and in the entire curriculum, with core courses cooperatively taught by member of all three participating departments.