Monitored natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons in a fractured environment – A case study

Biodegradation in addition to being one of the few alternatives, is considered an important natural attenuation process, since it results in the actual reduction in the mass of the contaminant (USEPA, 2004). This paper focuses on secondary lines of evidence to determine whether microbial action is contributing to the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at the study site.