June 7th, 2010 
jbtutt1e Thanks to all of you that have helped make the video so viral, there are more and more articles and television news shows asking the question “Why isn’t BP using microbes to clean up the Gulf”.
First, I surmise that BP is the only one that knows that answer.
I’ve heard others (and even some experts) provide wild speculation and answers that are not based in fact.
First, you’ might hear that the EPA banned bioremediation for being harmful to fish. This is misinformation that is just not true. In fact, many of the bioremediation ‘solutions’ are made with GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) microbes that don’t require EPA regulation—so, we could mix up them up in our garage if we knew how. So, it ain’t the EPA.
Second, some say BP would not use microbes because they would eat up the oil they are trying to reclaim. Yep, they would indeed loose the oil they are trying to skim and reclaim, but they can do the math. There are hundreds joining the Class Action Lawsuits every day that have been filed against BP—so delay of the cleanup costs much more than they will ever recover from skimming. But, I’m sure the contractors that have the contracts to reclaim the oil don’t want to see the microbes eat up their jobs 
.
The REAL reason that BP did not use microbes to clean up the spill: Because of ready availability of Disperants and BP’s “previously approved” contingency plan (and contracts and resourses in place to buy and apply dispersants ). Applying dispersants is a ‘traditional method’ of oil spill cleanup that the oil industry has used for years. Even though the oil industry is increasingly using microbes for spill cleanup, BP would likely not even know where to go to get the quantities of microbes that it will take to ‘fix’ the Gulf.
Luckily, they do now!
The Gulf Oil Spill Bioremediation Industry Alliance has just been formed.
In summary, this alliance brings the top bioremediation companies and their scientists together for the purpose of using microbes on the entire Spill. They are in the process of creating an implementation plan (for release this week) that focuses the expertise of each company on either the beach, water (shallow and deep) or wetlands depending on their historical success with a particular topography. If adopted, they will focus first on the areas where there is oil present on the beach or marshlands, then apply to the water near land, then work on the oil in the middle of the Gulf both on the surface and at various depths below. They have the production capacity to quickly ramp up to provide the “googol’s” worth of microbes to do the entire Gulf of Mexico.
From a draft version of the Alliance agreement, it is clear that all members have agreed to work with each other in harmony and put their competitive differences aside to get the entire Spill remediated.
I will post a copy of the plan on SpillFighters.com and provide more information about the Alliance later this week.
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You rock. Thank you. (repeat ad infinitum)
I’d like to know if the company http://www.nalco.com will be cooperating on this issue as well, it is connected with Al Gore and Dick Cheney which is not a good thing
We are an environmental company in the PNW. We recently signed an agreement with a Canadian company for use of bioremediation microbes on hydrocarbon spills. Our DD suggests that the effectiveness of the Canadian company’s microbes exceed the published results of others. Our primary interest in the Gulf is the marshlands.
We would like to run a test in the Gulf but are not on the EPA’S NCP product list which we understand is required before using our product in the Gulf area. We are in the process of applying for this listing but it will take some time.
At this time our business plan does not include being part of an alliance.
This is just information for you to let you know that there are some interested parties out there who are strong supporters of bioremediation and its future.
Best of luck on your efforts.
We are ready and awaiting the plan
i have the horizon email for idea’s and i sent this to them twice
I am going to post the email here and everyone should
email this linc and ask them why they are not spraying the micro’s directly into the leak in place of the chemical disputants.
email and put the pressure on BP and horizen to use this A.S.A.P
http://www.horizonedocs.com/artform.php
email email email fluid the site with out rage!!!
BP’s Remediation Management dept has a staff of 200 and a budget of over $400M per year. Here’s an article on their research into bioremediation techniques published in 2005:
“Wherever there is oil contamination, hydrocarbon-consuming bacteria tend to follow simply because the oil represents a source of carbon energy or food. If conditions for consumption can be enhanced by controlling key environmental variables, bacteria will efficiently degrade the remaining contamination to a harmless state.”
Spillfighters Comment: Great Research John! We’d prefer to see BP’s Remediation Management Department’s strategy ‘augmented’ by spreading trillions of additional natural microbes in with the ones that already exist in and around the Gulf to supercharge the process, but BP can’t say they don’t know about the power of remediation.
Source: BP Frontiers, 2005, issue 14
http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9013611&contentId=7021426
I live in St. Petersburg, Florida, and am concerned about a rapid response to oil likely hitting our bayous and wetlands. I have been learning about soil microbes and bioremediation for some time, experimenting with the product MycoGrow and making compost teas. The process for incubating compost tea is simply running a strong air pump with a tube to the bottom in order to mix in oxygen and aggregate the bacteria around the liquid. I don’t imagine it would be much more difficult to incubate and multiply bioremediation microbes.
I would like to see some information on cultivating these microbes on a small-medium scale so anyone living near an affected area can produce and apply their own solution. The starter cultures can be distributed to local teams to produce a constant supply to address the ongoing problem. Rather than putting all the burden on companies and governments, locals who are being affected need to be empowered too.
Thanks for everything you are doing to promote this solution!!
This is infuriating to see the oil slick putting the wildlife in peril and we have a solution that is not being used. Please let us know how we can help!
Hey everyone, what will it take to get this show on the road? Is it possible to have microbe maufacturers “donate” a pack of microbes to householders in the area and ask them to apply it to their stretch of coastline as a gift to the ocean? Why do we have to wait for goverments and companies to do something? Lets just start!
Hey there – I have a doctorate in bioremediation using microorganisms to clean up toxic wastes, so I was moved to clarify issues around importing oil eating microbes from somewhere else to “seed” the Gulf.
Basically when something like a large oil spill happens, it creates an “enrichment culture”situation. So more oleophilic (yep, that’s oil-loving) microorganisms (bacteria and fungi and protozoa) will increase in popluation since their fav food is available.
When bioremediation experts worked on the Exxon Valdez oil spill, their concern wasn’t seeding the spill area, it was more on creating a type of emulsifier that would stick to the oil, to make it easier for the microbes to access the oil.
I saw a response from someone about taking matters into their own hands.
The microbes are doing the work- Emulsifiers are important to it as is oxygenation. How to distribute this along the coast line and giving the residents there the tools to take matters into their own hands is effective. I think Kevin Costner’s centrifuge device is also a good approach for cleaning the water up. There is so much oil that a multi-pronged attack on it is best.
Can’t the Spill Fighters organization just contact the ‘officials’ directly? I’m sure they would love to meet you!
If this microbe is what you say it is, then BP should be held even more accountable for not being prepared/equipped to respond to calls coming in from the saving solution.
Can you explain?
Great article.