A microbiologist has discovered that vegetable oil can be used to clean up ground water contaminated with TCE.
Trichloroethylene (TCE), a colorless, toxic liquid widely used as a solvent for dry cleaning and degreasing, has been known to seep into ground water and make it dangerous for consumption. TCE also has been found in ground water on some military bases. Now Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists may have found an inexpensive but effective product to clean up the mess: vegetable oil. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's primary scientific research agency.
Microbiologist Jim Hunter of the ARS Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Laboratory in Ft. Collins, Colo., has discovered that vegetable oil can be used to clean up ground water contaminated with TCE. He recommends using soybean oil since it is inexpensive.