Duane Graves (Tennessee) co-authored an article entitled "Natural Attenuation in Streambed Sediment Receiving Chlorinated Solvents from Underlying Fracture Networks" that was published in Environmental Science & Technology Journal on March 22, 2017.

Duane's co-authors were Burcu Simsir, Jun Yan, Jeongdae Im, and Frank E. Loffler.

Abstract

Contaminant discharge from fractured bedrock formations remains a remediation challenge. We applied an integrated approach to assess the natural attenuation potential of sediment that forms the transition zone between upwelling groundwater from a chlorinated solvent-contaminated fractured bedrock aquifer and the receiving surface water. In situ measurements demonstrated that reductive dechlorination in the sediment attenuated chlorinated compounds before reaching the water column. Microcosms established with creek sediment or in situ incubated Bio-Sep beads degraded C1–C3 chlorinated solvents to less-chlorinated or innocuous products. Quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed the abundance and spatial distribution of known dechlorinator biomarker genes within the creek sediment and demonstrated that multiple dechlorinator populations degrading chlorinated C1–C3 alkanes and alkenes co-inhabit the sediment. Phylogenetic classification of bacterial and archaeal sequences indicated a relatively uniform distribution over spatial (300 m horizontally) scale, but Dehalococcoides and Dehalobacter were more abundant in deeper sediment, where 5.7 ± 0.4 × 105 and 5.4 ± 0.9 × 106 16S rRNA gene copies per g of sediment, respectively, were measured. The microbiological and hydrogeological characterization demonstrated that microbial processes at the fractured bedrock–sediment interface were crucial for preventing contaminants reaching the water column, emphasizing the relevance of this critical zone environment for contaminant attenuation.

More Information

Read the article at Environmental Science & Technology
For more information on the remediation of contamination from chlorinated solvents, contact Duane Graves at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To learn more about Duane see his profile at: http://www.geosyntec.com/people/duane-graves