Reductive dehalogenation of dichlorobenzenes and monochlorobenzene to benzene in microcosms.

Anaerobic microcosms were constructed using sediments from a historically chlorobenzene-contaminated site and were provided with yeast extract as an electron donor. In these methanogenic microcosms, all three isomers of dichlorobenzene (DCB) were reductively dehalogenated to monochlorobenzene (MCB) when added together or individually, with 1,2-DCB dehalogenation being the most rapid and 1,4-DCB the slowest. When nearly all of the DCBs were consumed, benzene was detected and its accumulation was concomitant with MCB disappearance.

Natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents at Area 6, Dover Air Force Base: groundwater biogeochemistry.

Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) has recently emerged as a viable groundwater remediation technology in the United States. Area 6 at Dover Air Force Base (Dover, DE) was chosen as a test site to examine the potential for MNA of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater and aquifer sediments. A "lines of evidence" approach was used to document the occurrence of natural attenuation.