SBIR Phase I: Development of a Commercial Culture of Dehalococcoides for Anaerobic Treatment of PCB's

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This Small BusinessI nnovationR esearch( SBIR) Phase1 project addressesth e developmento f abacterial culture to degrade PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in contaminated soils andsediments. PCBs are persistent, toxic contaminants which accumulate in the fatty tissues ofanimals,c ontaminatingf ish and humans.P CB-degradingb acteriah ave beend ifficult to produce.In2009, a readily-grownb acterials peciesw as shownb y BioremediationC onsultingI nc (BCI) todegrade the most harmful and carcinogenic type of PCBs. This finding allows the developmentof an anaerobic PCB-degrading culture for cost-etfective inoculation into PCB-contaminatedsediments. The proposed research will document the ability of BCI's culture to extensivelydechlorinate three types of commercial PCB mixtures, and will develop methods of rapidculturing.The broader/commerciailm pactso f this researcha ret he developmento f a bacteriai noculantt hatwill degrade PCBs in soil and sediment. PCBs are toxic chemicals used historically as heatresistantfluids in many industrial applications, including transformers in the electric utilityindustry. Several hundred million pounds were manufactured and disposed, resulting incontamination of soils and river sediments. The recent finding at BCI, that a strain ofdechlorinating bacteria is capable of dechlorinating PCBs. provides an opportunity for BCI todevelop a commercial culture for inoculating contaminated sites with PCB-degrading bacteria.The marketing of this product will be complementedb y our already-successfusl aleso f otherdechlorinating cultures used in treatment of contamination by diverse chlorinated compounds.Major stakeholdersin the utility industries,a nd remediationc ontractors,h ave expressedin terestin partnering with BCI and/or obtaining culture.