Changes in activity of amylase, cellulase, protease and dehydrogenase during biodegradation of petroleum contaminants were investigated in laboratory studies. Refinery soil polluted for a long time was modified by commercial biological preparation and natural biological preparation (prepared from this soil). These modifications did not influence cellulase and protease activity. Activity of amylase and dehydrogenase changed in these samples. In the sixth week the highest activity of dehydrogenase was noticed, especially in soil with commercial biological preparation. Modifications had a great influence on contaminants degradation. The highest elimination of TPH (20,4%) and heavy fractions (10,5%) took place in soil modified by commercial biological preparation. The highest PAH elimination was in soil with natural bacterial preparation

Petroleum pollution is still one or crucial environmental problems. Bioaugmcntation is a popular technique used in soil remediation. The aim of soil inoculation is acceleration or decomposition processes or improving the degradation efficiency. Effectiveness of bioaugmentation processes depends on the number and activity of microorganisms adapted to pollutant degradation. Enhancement of microorganisms' activity can be reached by the use or plants. Roots or plants excrete organic substances that stimulate microorganisms' growth. Among different species or plants interesting arc papilionaceous plants because of their nitrogen fixation ability in symbiosis with bacteria. The effects or using papilionaceous plants (Trifolium pratense), multiplied autochthonous microorganisms and commercial biopreparation in aged-petroleumpolluted soil were studied. The samples of soil were taken from the refinery in Czechowice-Dziedzice (Poland) and classified as heavily degraded with a C/N-ratio or 100:0.7. Investigations were conducted for 14 weeks. Microbiological analysis included: total bacteria, fungi, Actinomycetes and Pscudonionas counts. Concentration or heavy fractions, TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbons) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) were measured at the start and at the end of the experiment. Presence of pap il ionaceous plant (Trifolium pratensei enhanced the growth or microorganisms, nitrogen concentration and biodegradation processes (removal of 63% or TPH, 44% or heavy fractions, 9% or 4-6 aromatic PAHand 80% of 2-3 aromatic PAH) in polluted soil. An increasing number of Pseudomonas species was observed in samples in which pollution removal was more effective.

The aim of this work was to determine the influence of native and alien keratinolytic fungi inocula on the petroleum hydrocarbon removal rate in soil covered and not covered with hair. The hair was the major nutrient for keratinolytic fungi and other soil microorganisms. The fungal inocula accelerated the petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation process during the first month of the experiment. During the second month, TPH removal rates were similar for soil inoculated and not inoculated with fungi. The highest petroleum hydrocarbon removal rate was observed in soil inoculated with native fungal strains. The TPI-I removal rates were about 64% in soil covered with hair and 77% in soil not covered with hair. The lowest removal rate was observed in soil not inoculated with fungi (60%). The hair applied as additional nitrogen, sulfur and carbon source did not impact, or slightly inhibited, the petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation process. The fungal inocula caused dramatic changes in soil fungal qualitative composition.

Accidental oil spills at open sea is a common environmental problem. They lead to degradation of sea and shoreline life. In the last ten years there has been an increased interest in bioremediation using the enzymatic activity of the naturally occurring microorganisms. In this work the potential of mixed microbial cultures for biodegradation of crude oil in seawater and sand has been examined. Artificial seawater supplemented with nitrogen and phosphorus was inoculated with cultures isolated from refinery sludge. The same cultures were used for experiments in sand polluted by 5% (v/w) of crude oil. These experiments were performed in sterile and semi-natural (not sterile) conditions to see the degradation potential of isolated cultures, their growth characteristics and possible antagonisms between supplemented microorganisms and natural microflora. During the experiments the oxygen demand, number of bacteria (cfu) and optical density (OD660 ) were monitored. After 14 days of cultivation, the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in all samples was measured. All tested cultures had a potential for degradation of hydrocarbons in seawater and sand. After two weeks of experiment, loss of hydrocarbons in seawater polluted with crude oil was between 56.8% (A2 culture) and 64.4% (Al culture). The most effective culture for bioaugmentation of seawater does not have to be the best solution for bioaugmcntation of sand. In sand the best degraders in sterile and semi-natural conditions were found in the mixed cultures isolated from Corinth refinery sludge. For this culture concentration of hydrocarbons in sterile sand was 73.2% lower than in control sample and in non-sterile sand 70.5% lower than in control (sterile sand) without bioaugmentation. Finally, the addition of seawater and fertilizers to sand had also a positive influence on contaminants degradation by naturally occurring microorganisms (48%). Experiments performed with different environments (seawater and sand) and under different conditions (sterilized material and semi-natural conditions) confirmed that cultures should be tested in semi-natural conditions especially when indigenous microflora cans posse's high degradation potential. Allochtonie cultures, very active in sterile conditions, after inoculation to natural environment can even slow down the degradation.

Cytostatic drugs have become one of the greatest environmental hazards. They exhibit toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects on flora and fauna, including people. They are poorly eliminated in conventional wastewater treatment plants and their mixtures could possess higher ecotoxicity than individual drugs. Fungi are organisms with enormous potential for biodegradation of a variety of toxic chemical pollutants. The aim of this work was to estimate tolerance of five fungal strains to selected anticancer drugs, which will be useful to determine the potential for their possible use in cytostatics removal and may be significant in the context of wastewater treatment application. Test was conducted on Fomes fomentarius (CB13), Hypholoma fasciculare (CB15), Phyllotopsis nidulans (CB14), Pleurotus ostreatus (BWPH) and Trametes versicolor (CB8) and the chosen drugs were bleomycin and vincristine. Their ability to grow in the presence of selected cytostatics was evaluated in cultures conducted on two solid media which differed in the richness of nutrient compounds. Fungal strains tolerance was expressed as a half maximal effective concentration. Results showed that fungi display better tolerance to high cytostatics’ concentrations in the medium rich in carbon source. Regardless of the medium used, the differences in growth ability were lower for bleomycin (the tolerance was higher). The greatest tolerance for bleomycin was shown by Pleurotus ostreatus. Results suggest that more efficient elimination of bleomycin would be possible to obtain, strain BWPH seems to be the best fungal candidate for this drug degradation assay and, probably, in wastewater treatment application tests in a longer perspective.