The use of biological activities to monitor the removal of fuel contaminants-perspective for monitoring hydrocarbon contamination: a review

Soil biological activities are vital for the restoration of soil contaminated with hydrocarbons. Their role includes the biotransformation of petroleum compounds into harmless compounds. In this paper, the use of biological activities as potential monitoring tools or bioindicators during bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil are reviewed. The use of biological activities as bioindicators of hydrocarbon removal in soil has been reported with variable success. This variability can be attributed partially to the spatial variability of soil properties, which undoubtedly plays a role in the exposure of organisms to contaminants. Widely used bioindicators have been enzyme activities, seed germination, earthworm survival and microorganisms or microbial bioluminescence. A mixture of some successful utilization of biological activities and several failures, and inconsistencies reported, show that at this stage there is no general guarantee of successful utilization of biological activities as monitoring tools. Wherever possible, the use of biological activities as bioindicators of hydrocarbon removal must be used to complement existing traditional monitoring tools.