George Robinson (US Microbics 2003) is the pioneer for initiating the microbes’
usage for the process of bioremediation. During 1960s, during the incident of oil
spill along the coast of Santa Barbara, California, microbes were used by him. In the
1980s, the usage of bioremediation techniques has considerably increased in the
cases of oil spills as well as hazardous wastes (Shannon and Unterman 1993). Each
ecosystem has a set of native microorganisms which are well acclimatized in the
respective system. The same stands true in the case of soil microbes. These wellestablished indigenous soil microbes carry out an extreme important role in which
they perform as the agents of biochemical reactions and enable the transformation of
complex (organic) into smaller (inorganic) compounds. This whole process of
transformation is defined as mineralization. The property of ionic exchange facilitates the microbes to get adsorbed to soil particles, as soil particles possess a negative
charge, thus soil and bacteria are held together by ionic bond (Killham 1994).
Microorganisms assist in the process of bioremediation by either destroying or
immobilizing waste materials (Shanahan 2004). The processes of mineralization,
transformation and alteration of the hazardous chemicals are carried out for the
detoxification (Shannon and Unterman 1993). Natural bioremediation was also
being used by several civilizations, but now it is dealt with a scientific, systematic
approach of the same. The reactions which occur in the process of bioremediation
involve the release of energy in the form of redox reaction inside the microbial cell.
Various water bodies, viz. underground water, soil, lagoons etc. can be sanitized by
using various bioremediation methods. The oil spill in the water bodies occurs quite
frequently due to various activities like discharge of crude oil from tankers, platforms near the shore, assembly for drilling and wells, spills of refined petroleum
products (such as gasoline, diesel), bunker fuel spillage and haphazard discharge of
waste oil in the sea (Adams et al. 2015). Most extensive and successful application of
bioremediation was Alaska oil spill cleanup after Exxon oil spill (Boopathy 2000;
Katyayan 2019). Oil contamination creates havoc in a tremendous manner to the
environment. The penetration of oil into sea creatures reduces the ability of insulating themselves to a great extent, thus making them more susceptible to the temperature fluctuations. Also their ability of keeping themselves buoyant in water reduces
significantly. These alterations make the survival of sea organisms very tough. The
strong smell of oil makes it difficult for babies and mothers to locate each other.
Eventually, babies are left on their own leading to their deaths (Hogan 2008). It even
disables a bird from flying, preventing it from foraging, resulting in dehydration and
metabolic imbalance or escaping from predators. The ingestion of oil leads to
disabled liver and kidney function. It is difficult to protect the birds from dying. It
is suggested that only 1% of birds affected by oil spill are able to survive (Dunnet
et al. 1982). The oil spill is equally harmful for humans too. In 2013, alone, in such
two incidences, water supply for 3000 people was contaminated in Miri, Malaysia.
In 2000, around 80,000 people in Coca, Ecuador, similarly, Springs were contaminated in Clark County, Kentucky in 2010. Tourism is also affected adversely
due to contamination, which creates an economic impact (Yang et al. 2009).
The adverse effects of the spilled oil can be easily judged from the fact that once
the oil seeps into soil, the ability to support the growth of the plants is significantly
3 Microbial Indicators of Bioremediation: Potential and Success
87
usage for the process of bioremediation. During 1960s, during the incident of oil
spill along the coast of Santa Barbara, California, microbes were used by him. In the
1980s, the usage of bioremediation techniques has considerably increased in the
cases of oil spills as well as hazardous wastes (Shannon and Unterman 1993). Each
ecosystem has a set of native microorganisms which are well acclimatized in the
respective system. The same stands true in the case of soil microbes. These wellestablished indigenous soil microbes carry out an extreme important role in which
they perform as the agents of biochemical reactions and enable the transformation of
complex (organic) into smaller (inorganic) compounds. This whole process of
transformation is defined as mineralization. The property of ionic exchange facilitates the microbes to get adsorbed to soil particles, as soil particles possess a negative
charge, thus soil and bacteria are held together by ionic bond (Killham 1994).
Microorganisms assist in the process of bioremediation by either destroying or
immobilizing waste materials (Shanahan 2004). The processes of mineralization,
transformation and alteration of the hazardous chemicals are carried out for the
detoxification (Shannon and Unterman 1993). Natural bioremediation was also
being used by several civilizations, but now it is dealt with a scientific, systematic
approach of the same. The reactions which occur in the process of bioremediation
involve the release of energy in the form of redox reaction inside the microbial cell.
Various water bodies, viz. underground water, soil, lagoons etc. can be sanitized by
using various bioremediation methods. The oil spill in the water bodies occurs quite
frequently due to various activities like discharge of crude oil from tankers, platforms near the shore, assembly for drilling and wells, spills of refined petroleum
products (such as gasoline, diesel), bunker fuel spillage and haphazard discharge of
waste oil in the sea (Adams et al. 2015). Most extensive and successful application of
bioremediation was Alaska oil spill cleanup after Exxon oil spill (Boopathy 2000;
Katyayan 2019). Oil contamination creates havoc in a tremendous manner to the
environment. The penetration of oil into sea creatures reduces the ability of insulating themselves to a great extent, thus making them more susceptible to the temperature fluctuations. Also their ability of keeping themselves buoyant in water reduces
significantly. These alterations make the survival of sea organisms very tough. The
strong smell of oil makes it difficult for babies and mothers to locate each other.
Eventually, babies are left on their own leading to their deaths (Hogan 2008). It even
disables a bird from flying, preventing it from foraging, resulting in dehydration and
metabolic imbalance or escaping from predators. The ingestion of oil leads to
disabled liver and kidney function. It is difficult to protect the birds from dying. It
is suggested that only 1% of birds affected by oil spill are able to survive (Dunnet
et al. 1982). The oil spill is equally harmful for humans too. In 2013, alone, in such
two incidences, water supply for 3000 people was contaminated in Miri, Malaysia.
In 2000, around 80,000 people in Coca, Ecuador, similarly, Springs were contaminated in Clark County, Kentucky in 2010. Tourism is also affected adversely
due to contamination, which creates an economic impact (Yang et al. 2009).
The adverse effects of the spilled oil can be easily judged from the fact that once
the oil seeps into soil, the ability to support the growth of the plants is significantly
3 Microbial Indicators of Bioremediation: Potential and Success
87