Two renowned biologists from Tel Aviv University, Prof.
Eugene Rosenberg and Prof. Eliora Ron developed a natural "bioremediation"
technique which may hold the key to the final, most difficult steps of oil
spill cleanups. Such techniques are of high environmental and economic
importance especially in the wake of the
billion dollar BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The scientists identified a
naturally occurring variety of sea-borne bacteria that digests oil, and
developed a method for growing the Bacteria and increasing its capacity to
ingest oil. The solution, which can clean up residual oil that cannot be
removed by mechanical means, has already been applied to clean the bilges of
oil tankers at sea as well as for cleaning polluted beaches around the world.
The researchers also developed a bacterial treatment for large scale open water
oil spills, which utilize Guano (bird dropping). "Even when cleanup crews
reduce the amount of oil at sea, there will probably be enough left behind to
kill birds and wildlife," says Ron, adding that at this level of oil
removal, the only solution is bioremediation..