Verifying Bioremediation. How Do I Know If It Is Taking Place

Bioremediation technology is analogous to all other technologies that gradually become accepted by society. Bioremediation is based on fundamental scientific and engineering principles that are translated into applications that reliably serve the public good. All technologies (from airplanes to automobiles to electric lights to personal computers) traverse various developmental stages — each of unpredictable duration, that include conception, proof of concept, prototype development, scale up, design refinements, applications testing, and marketing (among others). Implicit in the title of this chapter is the fact that many applications of bioremediation technology are still in their infancy. Bioremediation still needs quality control — this technology still needs to define its boundaries between promise and reality.

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