Post-spill studies in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon incident, are suggesting that naturally occurring oil-eating bacteria are helping the Gulf recover more quickly than expected. An EU project is looking at ways to make the pollutant-degrading bacteria a more regular part of oil spill mitigation, allowing wildlife and ecosystems to recover more rapidly.
If the project succeeds, the secondary environmental damage from the use of chemical dispersants during cleanup, which can impact wildlife in the area over the longer term by affecting food sources and habitat, could be reduced or even eliminated. But there are many obstacles to overcome before oil-eating bacteria can be used effectively in areas where they don’t occur in the quantities found in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Bacterial Abiotic Cellular stress and Survival Improvement Network (BACSIN) project is a three stage project with the eventual aim of finding ways to grow some of these bacteria in a controlled environment for use during an oil spill incident. In addition the group will look at methods such as freeze-drying which might allow them to be sprayed directly on a spill. Initially the project will focus on how to optimise survival of some key species of marine bacteria with the long-term goal of being able to produce these bacteria for environmental application
In particular, the scientists are studying two naturally occurring species, Alcanivorax borkumensis and Oleispira antarctica. The first is one of the bacteria with known ability to degrade oil in the marine environment. The second is an oil-eating bacteria that thrives in cold environments, a major concern as Polar regions are being explored for oil and gas development.
While replacement of chemical dispersants such as Corexit® and similar products with naturally occurring bacteria will not happen tomorrow, the BACSIN project is an important step in oil pollution mitigation with benefits for oil affected wildlife and their habitats.