Advantages
Disadvantages
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Bioremediation is a natural process that is accepted by the public as a method for treating waste-contaminated environments. Microorganisms that degrade the contaminant increase when it is present and the population declines when the contaminant is degraded. The residues left are usually harmless such as carbon dioxide, water, and biomass.
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Bioremediation is useful to completely eliminate various contaminants. The hazardous compounds can be transformed using bioremediation to become harmless. Therefore, this eliminates issues of future liability of treatment and disposal of contaminated substances.
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Instead of relocating materials from one place to another, the complete elimination of harmful pollutants is possible
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Bioremediation can be more cost efficient than other technologies that clean up pollutants
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Bioremediation is limited to compounds that are biodegradable. Not every compound can be degraded at a rapid pace
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The process of bioremediation requires specific requirements. These requirements include the presence of a capable microbial community, suitable environment growing condition, and appropriate level of nutrients and contaminants
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It is difficult to model bench and pilot-scale studies to full scale
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Research is needed for the development of technologies that are appropriate for the specific site
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Bioremediation often takes longer than simple treatment options such as excavation or removal of soil
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There is no evaluation of the performance of bioremediation, meaning that no effective way of determining if the process is complete exists
Legal Issues
Social Issues
Ethical Issues
In terms of using bioremediation, potential legal issues may include property rights on the site and consent from the community for the use of bioremediation in the area. The process must be regulated through extensive steps. Legal aspects have been imposed by the federal government that help manage bioremediation:
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Enacted in 1976, the RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act), the EPA has the ability to identify any hazardous waste and authorize treatment for all hazardous waste. The disposal and management for pollutants must be confirmed to RCRA before actions can be taken.
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In addition, ratified in 1976 was the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) which allows the EPA to regulate specific chemical compounds that creates risks to the environment. The EPA has the authority to manage the release of microbes to the contaminated sites.
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In 1980, the CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) was created to provide the EPA the authority to clean up contaminated sites. The CERCLA has a strict liability to those who created the damage are held liable for cleanup.
Usually bioremediation occurs underground therefore not causing disruption onto the area; however in some above ground cases, the noise at contamination sites from machines and technologies may disrupt the surrounding environment. Residents and businesses may hear and be affected by the operation of the construction equipment that are at the site.
In bioremediation, the process could potentially upset the balance of the environment around it. Using man-made inventions to clean the environment may destroy the naturally occurring processes around it instead of cleaning it. In addition, the implementation of new microbes to the site may impact the indigenous microbial population. This may cause severe damage since the bacterial communities' interactions with one another are unknown.
Economic Impacts
Bioremediation is limited in that not all contaminants are able to be treated with it. The contaminants that are resistant to microbial attacks are either slowly degraded or not degraded at all. With no rules concerning the ability of a contaminant to be degraded, it is not easy to predict the rates of clean-up for a site being treated with bioremediation; however, the techniques in bioremediation are usually more economical than traditional methods (like incineration) in addition to the fact that some contaminants are able to be treated on the site, thus reducing the risks of exposing personnel to the pollutants, or a potentially wider exposure in the case of an accident during transportation. The public has accepted bioremediation because it is based on natural attenuation, meaning that humans do not need to intervene as often.