"The soybean oil will 'change the subsurface environment to let bacteria thrive,' without oxygen, said Carol Northrup, chief of public affairs for the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The bacteria will eat the solvents, breaking them down.
This may take 20 years, and will be monitored, until eventually the contamination will be in very low concentrations."
Comments
20 years too long
This approach reflects the unacceptable lag between contamination and clean-up. 20 years is too long to make people wait to drink and bathe in healthy tapwater.
Clean-up funding needs to be substantially increased in this country.