PubTalk 8/2008 — How the Earth Copes with Our LUSTs

The amazing capabilities of subsurface life

by Barbara Bekins, USGS Research Hydrologist

LUST= Leaking Underground Storge Tank

• By some estimates, the total carbon in subsurface bacteria is nearly as large as the carbon in all surface plants
• Underground microorganisms are capable of biodegrading an array of industrial contaminants, including petroleum-based fuels
• In the late 1990s this knowledge was used to revise clean-up strategies for LUST sites
• There are more than 3,000 LUST sites in California-- more than 450 in the Bay Area