Research for ground-water quality management with an emphasis on in situ biorestoration

It is important to remember that the behavior of contaminants in the subsurface is influenced by chemical and hydrologic parameters as well as biotic considerations, and that a wholistic understanding of these processes will be required for successful ground-water quality management. There is little doubt that vast resources will be devoted to remedial action activities aimed at restoring ground water in coming years. With the average cost of cleaning up a hazardous waste site now approaching five million dollars, the future cost of dealing with existing sources of ground-water contamination will be measured in many billions of dollars and uncalculable hours of effort. Already we can see that, as we begin to understand the processes that control the behavior of pollutants in the subsurface, we can not only reduce these expenditures dramatically, but also assure that the actions taken adequately protect ground water now and in the future.