Oxygen Injection
Oxygen injection is a form of bioremediation, which means it allows natural processes to clean up harmful chemicals in the environment. Microscopic "bugs" or microbes that live in soil and groundwater like to eat certain harmful chemicals. When microbes completely digest these chemicals, they change them into water and harmless gases such as carbon dioxide. Adding oxygen to the soil helps create optimal conditions for bioremediation to occur.
Oxygen injection involves the injection of a 90 to 95% pure oxygen gas into groundwater to increase its concentration of dissolved oxygen, which is used by indigenous microorganisms to aerobically degrade the organic chemicals.
Is Bioremediation Safe?
Bioremediation is very safe because it relies on microbes that naturally occur in soil. These microbes are helpful and pose no threat to people at the site or in the community. Microbes themselves won't hurt you, but never touch the polluted soil or groundwater-especially before eating. No dangerous chemicals are used in bioremediation. The nutrients added to make microbes grow are fertilizers commonly used on lawns and gardens. Because bioremediation changes the harmful chemicals into water and harmless gases, the harmful chemicals are completely destroyed. To ensure that bioremediation is working, EPA tests samples of soil and groundwater.
