Bioremediation is being used or proposed as a treatment
option at many hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. One
such site is a former bulk-fuel storage facility near
Barrow,
AK, where contamination persists after approximately 380
m3 of JP-5 was spilled in 1970. The soil at the site
is
primarily coarse sand with low organic carbon (<1%) and
low moisture (1−3%) contents. We examined the
effects
of nutrient additions on microorganisms in contaminated
soil
from this site in laboratory microcosms and in mesocosms
incubated for 6 weeks in the field. Nitrogen was the
major limiting nutrient in this system, but microbial
populations
and activity were maximally enhanced by additions of both
nitrogen and phosphorus. When nutrients were added to
soil in the field at three levels of N:P (100:45, 200:90,
and
300:135 mg/kg soil), the greatest stimulation in microbial
activity
occurred at the lowest, rather than the highest, level of
nutrient addition. The total soil-water potentials ranged
from
−2 to −15 bar with increasing levels of fertilizer.
Semivolatile hydrocarbon concentrations declined significantly
only
in the soils treated at the low fertilizer level. These
results
indicate that an understanding of nutrient effects at a
specific site is essential for successful
bioremediation.
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