In August of 1992, the state of California panicked when 133,000 liters of jet aircraft fuel leaked out of underground storage tanks into two locations that lay beneath Van Nuys Airport in the city of Van Nuys.

   Environmental agencies immediatly recognized the dangerous potential this sort of accident held for people living in the area. The level of petroleum hydrocarbon had reached three times the level that requires remediation ( the "clean-up" of this sort of toxic spill). There was a definite risk of the pollutant reaching the city's groundwater.

   Since caustic chemicals used for cleaning up fuel create even more environmental problems, and the act of excavating and hauling would disrupt airport acitvity for up to five years, environmentalists needed another solution. What could quickly clean up the toxic spill in a simple, cheap, fast and safe way? BIOREMIDATION IS THE ANSWER! Bioremediation is the use of bacteria to remove pollutants from the environment. The specific bacteria converts the toxic organic material into carbon dioxide, water, and several forms of salt in a natural cycle.

   Special microboes, such as HC-507, have a special make-up that digests the oil and gasoline. HC-507 combines with nutrients, pH stabilizers, oxygen and detergents so that when it reaches contaminated areas, bioremediation can take place. This unique system is currently being used to manage sewage, clean up oil spills and underground storage leaks, treat industralized waste, and remediate various hazardous waste sights. And to think you thought bacteria was a harmful organism that only killed. If it weren't for those special "oil-eating bacteria" much damage could have occured in the oil leak incident.