Multidisciplinary approach for evaluation of the complete removal of chloroethenes in contaminated aquifer

Chlorinated ethenes (CEs) pose a long-lasting risk for humans and the environment. Nowadays, they are the major groundwater contaminant worldwide and are of particular concern since they form a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL). Reductive dehalogenation of the CEs to the non-toxic end-products ethane and ethene is used for nearly twenty years as the most efficient and used remediation technique called enhanced reductive dehalogenation (ERD). However, in some cases the reduction of CEs is halted to 1,2-dichloroethene (1,2-DCE) or to the carcinogenic vinyl chloride (VC). The dechlorination is known to be a complex process and many factors were identified to play an important role in quantitative and qualitative reduction of the CEs in-situ. This study was designed to show new methodological approach and demonstrated the importance of both, the biological and environmental variables, for the performance of ERD. The combination of analytical data, molecular biological analysis and statistical methods could be used as a tool for finding of a proper efficient remediation procedure for the removal of chlorinated ethenes.