(Israel21c) A natural "bioremediation" technique developed by biologists at an Israeli university may hold the key to the oil spill cleanup in the wake of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Professors Eugene Rosenberg and Eliora Ron from Tel Aviv University use naturally occurring oil-munching bacteria to clean hard-to-reach oil pockets that are produced when oil mixes with sand and organic matter on beaches and forms a thin layer on waterways. "It's worked to clean up an oil spill on the coast of Haifa," Ron reports, "so we've got evidence it could work in Florida, too." Their solution addresses the small percentage of oil left behind that sits under rocks and forms a thin film on the water after the surface pools have been sucked up and the oil has been contained.
2010-08-06 09:24:42Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive