MTBE Contamination: A Microbial Approach for Ground Water
A Rutgers laboratory has taken an important step on the path to using microbes to rid the environment of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE).
Max Häggblom's Rutgers laboratory has taken an important step on the path to using microbes to rid the environment of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), a toxic gasoline additive now classified as a potential human carcinogen.
In a recent paper in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the researchers bring to light a tool that will help them find the key bacteria capable of breaking down MTBE. The additive has contaminated a great deal of ground water in the United States through fuel spills and leaking underground gasoline storage tanks.