Mopping with bacteria
Bio-remediation, a process in which bacteria clean contaminated soil and water, is proving useful in cleaning the environment. Says Ryuichiro Kurane of the Industrial Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, this can be done by increasing the activity of existing bacteria by stimulating them with nutrients such as phosphorus. Another is to insert more bacteria into the contaminated area. The cleanup of an oil-contaminated land near Rotterdam port in the Netherlands showed that bio-remediation is also cost-effective, says Kurane ( Daily Yomiuri Shimbun , November 30, 1999).