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Bioremediation <br /> Bioremediation is a treatment alternative that can be used for remediating <br />' soil affected by hydrocarbons The affected soils would be excavated and <br /> treated at the site After treatment is complete, the clean soil could be <br /> tbackfilled into the excavation <br /> Several soil bioremediation methods are available, including landfarming <br />' and treatment cells In landfarrrung, the soil is spread out over the ground <br /> to a depth of 12 inches, moistened, and periodically tilled with <br /> conventional agricultural equipment to provide aeration The addition of <br />' water and oxygen stimulates the natural microbes and increases the rate <br /> of natural biodegradation (which is generally on-going at any site having <br /> petroleum hydrocarbons in soil) Microbial activity can be further <br /> stimulated by adding fertilizer <br /> Loss of volatile hydrocarbons through aeration occurs during landfarming <br />' activities, and it is therefore difficult to distinguish between treatment <br /> results achieved by biodegradation and those achieved through <br />' <br /> volatilization/aeration Therefore, the implementation of a <br /> bioremediation strategy only adds to the costs of the aeration alternative <br /> Thus, landfarming has no advantages over on-site aeration and was <br /> eliminated from consideration <br /> The use of treatment cells allows for better control of soil moisture, <br />' temperature, and nutrient and oxygen content than does landfarming <br /> Because treatment cells are fully enclosed, commercial (non-native) <br /> microbes can be used to accelerate the biodegradation process Treatment <br />' cells are expensive to construct and offer no significant benefits for <br /> compounds, such as petroleum hydrocarbons, that are simple to <br /> biodegrade Therefore, treatment cells were eliminated from further <br />' consideration <br /> Because this alternative was excluded from further consideration, <br />' implementation costs were not developed <br />' No Action <br /> In the no action alternative, no measures would be taken to contain or <br />' treat the hydrocarbons in site soils This passive response would employ <br /> natural biodegradation as the only treatment <br />' This alternative is easily implementable, as no action is required It would <br /> also be the least expensive alternative However, this alternative may not <br /> 4-b <br />