Solvent-breathing bacteria. (The Beat).A bacterium that "breathes" the industrial solvent 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA TCA 1. trichloroacetic acid. 2. tricarboxylic acid cycle (Krebs cycle). TCA Tricyclic antidepressant, see there ) has been discovered in the Hudson River Hudson River River, New York, U.S. Originating in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing for about 315 mi (507 km) to New York City, it was named for Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609. Dutch settlement of the Hudson valley began in 1629. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , report Michigan State University Michigan State University, at East Lansing; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1855. It opened in 1857 as Michigan Agricultural College, the first state agricultural college. microbiologists. The TCA1 bacterium thrives in the presence of TCA, and it metabolizes the pollutant into chloroethane, which is relatively easily remediated by aerobic soil microbes. An extra benefit is that TCA1 does its cleanup work underwater, which keeps TCA from escaping into the atmosphere, where it can cause ozone depletion. Until the United States banned TCA in 1996, it was used in glues, paints, industrial degreasers, and aerosol sprays. Today it is present in half of all Superfund sites. |
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