Presents the proceedings of a Biotechnology '94, a European Federation of Biotechnology conference held in Brighton on July 4th, 1994. The event comprised five separate symposia held over three days: ISEB 2; ABE 2; Conference on Applied Biocatalysis; II2; Conference on Fermentation Physiology.

Organized by the International Astronautical Federation and the International Academy of Astronautics with the Support and Cooperation of UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the WHO, the World Meteorological Organization, andthe International Telecommunication Union

Collection of papers presented at three workshops, hosted by the Centre for Clean Environment Technology, Bangalore University during 1998-2001 and some contributed atricles.

Purpose ofthe Workshop In the spirit of enhancing developments in science and technology by facilitating international scientific cooperation, the Science Committee of NATO is sponsoring AR W's in several selected priority areas. The objective of this workshop was to discuss what microbial mediated problems have been experienced in the area of nuclear waste management and spent fuel storage. Long term storage of high-level wastes in repositories is just starting in some countries. However, low and medium level wastes have been stored for several decades. In the area of spent fuel interim, storage has been extended at many locations far beyond the intended time. It was a priority of the workshop to examine and discuss what deleterious effects have been observed under these storage conditions or under conditions used in simulated trial tests for predicting material performance under the storage conditions. For example, one chronic problem that was discussed was possibility that microbial influenced corrosion (MIC) could be taking place in the wet storage of spent fuel thereby initiating or accelerating the process of corrosion. Another discussion in the area of waste forms, focused on the presence ofbiofilms which may be breaking down the structure of the waste form and thereby jeopardizing its integrity. The meeting focused on discussing the observations and data collected relating to problems encountered in the storage of these types of wastes, and sharing this information with others that have not monitored their facilities for similar problems.

The book aims to provide a comprehensive view of advanced environmental approaches for wastewater treatment, heavy metal removal, pesticide degradation, dye removal, waste management, microbial transformation of environmental contaminants etc. With advancements in the area of Environmental Biotechnology, researchers are looking for the new opportunities to improve quality standards and environment. Recent technologies have given impetus to the possibility of using renewable raw materials as a potential source of energy. Cost intensive and eco-friendly technology for producing high quality products and efficient ways to recycle waste to minimize environmental pollution is the need of hour. The use of bioremediation technologies through microbial communities is another viable option to remediate environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals, pesticides and dyes etc. Since physico-chemical technologies employed in the past have many potential drawbacks including higher cost, and lower sustainability. So there is need of efficient biotechnological alternatives to overcome increasing environmental pollution. Hence, there is a need for environmental friendly technologies that can reduce the pollutants causing adverse hazards on humans and surrounding environment.