Oil spill bioremediation in Galveston Bay: Assessment and lessons

Observations by NOAA scientists indicated that a bioremediation treatment with a microbial and fertilizer mix in oiled marshes of northern Galveston Bay, Texas, in August 1990, was not successful at enhancing biodegradation of a spilled feed stock oil. Efficacy and effects of the treatment in test plots of marsh grass were systematically tracked through a well-defined, controlled and executed monitoring program. Although complete results of chemical monitoring have yet to be reported, analysis of GC/MS chromatograms of samples of oiled water and sediment collected by NOAA observers did not indicate that there were significant differences in chemical indices of biodegradation between treated and untreated plots during the first five days after treatment.