Bioremediation used in rehab of contaminated sites

MANILA, Philippines – The Bioremediation Research Team of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) based in UP Los Baños (UPLB) is currently conducting studies to rehabilitate several contaminated sites in the country.

These include an abandoned mining site in Mogpog, Marinduque, and bodies of water in Bulacan.

In Mogpog, Marinduque, a team of experts from the UPLB headed by College of Arts and Sciences Dean and microbiologist Dr. Asuncion Raymundo has been examining both the soil and bodies of water in the vicinity of the abandoned mining site and has found them heavily contaminated. 

Funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Forestry Research and Development (PCARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the team was able to plant narra, banaba, and alibangbang in the wasteland with some intervention such as the use of compost, lime, and fungi (Mykovam) despite the presence of heavy metal contamination.

Raymundo said the possible absorption of copper and other metal deposits by smaller and easily grown plants will make it possible for these metals to be recovered and recycled into useful materials.

In the meantime, Drs. Nelson Pampolina, Nelly Aganggan and Jocelyn Zarate are studying the growth of jatropha, also in the Mogpog site, as a means to rehabilitate the soil. 

Dr. Nina Cadiz is studying the possible effects of the absorption of copper, lead, cadmium, and the other metal contaminants both on the plants and the fruits and seeds that they will bear.  

Raymundo and her student, Arlene Llamado, are also looking into the growth of bacteria in the roots of the plants in the Mogpog site. They have correlated the growth of the bacteria population with the growth of the plants used for remediation.

A thriving population would mean that the bacteria are capable of consuming the metals found in the soil where the plant is situated. The bacteria can then be isolated and used for future microbial remediation in other mining wastes or polluted environments.

Bioradiation is the process of facilitating the detoxification or removal of contaminants, pollutants or waste from an environment through the use of microorganisms (microbial remediation) and plants (phytoremediation).

Bioremediation is important in the restoration of fertility of soils, and the rehabilitation of rivers and other bodies of water contaminated by pollutants.  

Aside from its use in mining sites, bioremediation is also being considered to rehabilitate areas contaminated by gold smelters and tanneries such as those along the Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando river systems in Bulacan.

Prof. Marlo Mendoza, Dr. Lorele Trinidad, Dr. Veronica Migo, and Dr. Catalino Alfafara, in cooperation with CHeLSi Tannery of Bulacan, are looking at microbial remediation to reduce the concentration of toxic heavy metals in the industry’s wastewater.

Chemical run-offs from tanneries and gold smelters along the rivers have been found to pose a serious threat to the health of communities living along these bodies of water and to those who consume the aquatic resources from these rivers, prompting the team to initiate research on microbial remediation in the tanneries and gold smelters industries. Any significant result of the research can be implemented by the industries in the area. 

Bioremediation is considered safer than other environmental remediation methods that make use of chemical agents. It uses naturally occurring biological organisms or agents which pose no danger to the existing population and ecosystems.

The UPLB studies and experiments on bioremediation have been conducted with the cooperation of experts from other academic institutions and agencies also conducting similar research.

Among these institutions are the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, the Ateneo de Manila University, and UP Diliman.

These universities share their expertise and findings with each other in the hope of finding solutions to various situations where bioremediation can be applied. 

Raymundo has been named Academician by the National Academy of Science and Technology since 2002.

The researchers have submitted to the DOST a proposal which would enable them to conduct more studies at a cost of P 20 million.