African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (12), pp. 675-682, December 2004          
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals

Review

Chloroethenes contaminants in the environment: Still a cause for concern

Ademola O. Olaniran^1,3*, Dorsamy Pillay^1,2  and  Balakrishna Pillay¹

¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, Republic of South Africa.

²Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Science and Built Environment, Durban Institute of Technology, P.O.Box 1334, Durban 4000, Republic of South Africa.

³Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

*Correspondence author.  E-mail: adeolaniran@yahoo.com.; Fax: + 27 31260 7809; Tel.: + 27 31 260 7401.

Accepted 13 November, 2004

Prior to 1980, chloroethenes were generally believed to be recalcitrant to degradation. Efforts to remediate sites polluted by this group of compounds were thus limited to the ineffective and tedious pump-and-treat method. The environmental significance of chloroethenes and the absence of effective alternative physical remediation methods have warranted intense scientific investigation into the role of microorganisms for detoxifying these environmentally important compounds to benign products. Several microbial mechanisms have therefore been identified to significantly degrade these compounds in soil and ground water polluted systems. This paper provides a mini-review of such mechanisms with the view of understanding the biodegradation processes for better exploitation for bioremediation of chloroethene contaminants, which continue to be of serious environmental challenges.

Key words: Bioremediation; Chloroethenes; Cometabolism; Oxidation, Reductive dechlorination.