ABSTRACT
In the area of Bitterfeld, Germany, where a significant number of chemical factories are situated, the groundwater is endangered by chemicals, mainly chloroorganics. These originate from leakages from the production plants as well as from closed-down open cast mines that were used as dumping sites. As the open cast mines have unsecured bases and the groundwater is no longer pumped out, large volumes of chemical waste have been seeping into the underlying aquifers over the past decades. The groundwater has to be decontaminatcd because it could affect the quality of the drinking water and endangers the lives of humans and animals. Conventional remediation processes are very expensive and labor-intensive and, because of the volume of water involved, are not suitable in this case. Therefore alternative methods have to be found.
