Bacterial Affection

Langan Accelerates Redevelopment Naturally through Bioremediation

It’s been said that the best thing we can do to help save the environment is … nothing. Let nature take its course. While that may be true in some cases, it’s a fact that by helping nature a little bit, we can clean up subsurface contamination, and do it quickly. That’s exactly what Langan’s environmental practice is doing with augmented bioremediation.

It’s known that a naturally occurring bacteria – Dehalococcoides (DHC) – destroys chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater under anaerobic conditions, but the process can be slow. With nature in need of some speed, Langan scientists deploy methods to distribute benign chemicals into the subsurface in conjunction with DHC bacteria, which greatly accelerates nature’s ability to get rid of contaminants.

“Our clients really appreciate the schedule-saving benefits of this process, which can decrease timeframes from years to mere months,” said Amita Oka, Ph.D., Project Scientist, Langan. “Moreover, this process enhances our integrated service model. Bioremediation does not adversely impact soil characteristics, and that enables our geotechnical colleagues to design cost-effective foundations. Further, by reducing overall project timelines, we help our site/civil group expedite approvals so redevelopment projects can move to construction more swiftly.”

Dr. Oka and her fellow scientists develop many of these innovative remediation solutions at the Langan Treatability Facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which is led by Stewart Abrams, Principal & Director of Remediation Technology. Regarding bioaugmentation, the results have been phenomenal with clients from a variety of commercial sectors benefitting from some very aggressive bacteria … and a little boost by Langan.