ABSTRACT
An area ncar Kassel, where the bioremediation process described below was tested on a technical scale, was one of the largest armament plants in Germany, with a total production of 135,000 t of TNT between 1938 and 1945 [4]. The area comprised 230 ha with 400 buildings, e.g., production sites and filling and pressing facilities. Half a century after production ended, high amounts of TNT and rclated products arc still detectable in the soil and groundwater. Because the ground is still used as an industrial and residential area, the first measures at the site were to safely deposit some highly contaminated soil and to purify the groundwater with activated carbon filters. For a long-term solution, however, remediation of the contaminated soil is necessary. Besides incineration, biological treatment of the TNT-contaminated soil is an attractive remediation strategy because it is ecologically harmless due to low energy consumption, low emissions, and preservation of the biological activity of the soil.
