ABSTRACT
I. OVERVIEW Soil that is accidentally contaminated by releases of hazardous chemicals may be classified as hazardous waste under state or federal environmental statutes. When the amounts of contam inated soil are sufficiently large, the most often used methods of disposal, incineration or land disposal, can become prohibitively expensive. In addition, soil pollutants act as a secondary source for groundwater contamination. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has re cently implemented a strategy to address the complex problems associated with soil pollution through the application of innovative technologies [1]. One of the most frequently studied al ternatives of late for the treatment of several classes of organics, notably petroleum hydrocar bons, is bioremediation.
