Journal of Bioremediation & Biodegradation
Open Access

Research Article

Global Use of Bioremediation Technologies for Decontamination of Ecosystems

Chijioke O. Elekwachi1, John Andresen2 and Thomas Charlie Hodgman1*
1Multidisciplinary Centre for Integrative Biology (MyCIB), University of Nottingham, School of Biosciences, College Road, Sutton Bonington’ Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
2School of Engineering and Physical Services, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland EH14 4AS, UK
Corresponding Author :	Thomas Charlie Hodgman Multidisciplinary Centre for Integrative Biology (MyCIB) University of Nottingham, School of Biosciences College Road, Sutton Bonington’ Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK Tel: 0115 951 6290 E-mail: Charlie.Hodgman@nottingham.ac.uk
Received February 28, 2014; Accepted May 05, 2014; Published May 09, 2014
Citation: Elekwachi CO, Andresen J, Hodgman TC (2014) Global Use of Bioremediation Technologies for Decontamination of Ecosystems. J Bioremed Biodeg 5:225. doi:10.4172/2155-6199.1000225
Copyright: © 2014 Elekwachi CO, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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A global survey examining the use of bioremediation technologies for addressing environmental pollution problems has been carried out. There were respondents from all continents (except Antarctica), though North America was comparatively over-represented. Despite a high aspiration to apply bioremediation techniques, this was not borne out in current practice. Air pollution was the lowest priority. Otherwise, a clear association was seen between the per capita income of a region and the concerns, remediation techniques and research practice adopted. For example, contamination of groundwater had higher priority in developed countries/regions. Toxic metals and aromatic hydrocarbons were the most common concern, while alkyl halides were of greater concern in North temperate (comparatively economically developed) countries than elsewhere. Only 15-35% of respondents used online databases to guide the design of their experiments, and these were largely restricted to North America and Europe, three quarters of US respondents used modelling software compared with about a third elsewhere. Consequently, while the developed economies made higher use of low-cost in situ bioremediation technologies (e.g. Monitored Natural Attenuation), their developing counterparts appeared to focus on the more expensive, sometimes ex situ, technologies. Despite the significant investment in and widespread availability of online resources, their limited use emphasizes the need to explore avenues for improved training and the development of more user-friendly resources. In this regard, this survey has produced a bioremediation research wish list to guide such developments. The data from this survey may also contribute to policy-decision making worldwide. 

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