Bioremediation of organic pollutants and heavy metals by use of microorganisms represents a safe, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly concept in modern environmental engineering. During the last three decades intense efforts have been made by microbiologists and environmental engineers in the isolation and characterization of microorganisms capable of degradation, transformation and detoxification of recalcitrant chemical compounds of environmental concern: (polyhalogenated) dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and diphenyl ethers. Special emphasis is placed on the potential of molecular biology techniques to improve presently available biocatalysts.

In the Vietnam war from 1961 to 1971, the United States military defoliated trees and plants using approximately 80 million liters of the herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), the last of which appeared to be contaminated with trace amounts of the highly toxic dioxin congener 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD). Until recently, Bien Hoa airbase in South Vietnam was a highly contaminated hotspot where soils and sediments in the vicinity of the site were polluted with high concentrations of herbicides and dioxins due to large spills. The aim of the studies was to correlate the composition and dynamics of microbial communities originating from soils contaminated with herbicides and dioxins at Bien Hoa airbase in Vietnam to the biodegradation of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T in order to obtain a better understanding of the role of key bacteria participating in their biodegradation, and to get insight into the best conditions for bioremediation. Our general approach was i) to enrich microbial communities from dioxin and herbicide polluted soil in Vietnam under defined conditions and to follow their community compositions over time using high throughput 16S rRNA gene profiling using the Illumina platform, and ii) to measure the degradation of 2,3,7,8-TCDD or the herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T using the DR-CALUX® bioassay or LC-MS/MS in parallel. A more specific approach was the isolation and characterization of bacteria and fungi that were dominant in some of the enrichments and which showed breakdown of 2,3,7,8-TCDD or the herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T when grown in isolation. The inspection of the genomes of some of the isolated bacterial species provided a more detailed insight in their genetic and metabolic potential to degrade these xenobiotics. Chapter 2 determined the correlation of the microbial community structure potentially contributing to 2,3,7,8-TCDD biodegradation.

This book compiles all of the information regarding Dioxins and Furans. Dioxins and Furans are two of the twelve persistent organic pollutants (POPs) covered by the Stockholm Convention held in May 2001. In implementing the Convention, Governments of many nations have taken measures to either eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.

Incineration has been used widely for waste disposal, including household, hazardous, and medical wasteâ€"but there is increasing public concern over the benefits of combusting the waste versus the health risk from pollutants emitted during combustion. Waste Incineration and Public Health informs the emerging debate with the most up-to-date information available on incineration, pollution, and human healthâ€"along with expert conclusions and recommendations for further research and improvement of such areas as risk communication. The committee provides details on: Processes involved in incineration and how contaminants are released. Environmental dynamics of contaminants and routes of human exposure. Tools and approaches for assessing possible human health effects. Scientific concerns pertinent to future regulatory actions. The book also examines some of the social, psychological, and economic factors that affect the communities where incineration takes place and addresses the problem of uncertainty and variation in predicting the health effects of incineration processes.