Abstract
The Geo- Environmental Protection Center (GEPC) has estimated that as many as 44, 000 work-places and former factory sites throughout Japan require a survey on contaminated soil. Up to the present, various physical and chemical methods have been used to remedy the soil quality. However, there is a growing use of bioremediation method to purify soil since this method is believed to be capable of decomposing and rendering the contaminants harmless at a low cost. Bioremediation is defined as a technology to remedy contaminated soil or groundwater using biological function. In Japan, this technology is commonly used to treat contaminated soil with the maximum volume of less than 100, 000 m3.
Bioremediation is a practical technology for the treatment of fuel oil contaminated soil, where microbes in soil degrade the oil into harmless compounds such as carbon dioxide and water.
