USGS: LUSTs
How the Earth Copes with Our LUSTs
The amazing capabilities of subsurface life
by Barbara Bekins, USGS Research Hydrologist
LUST = Leaking Underground Storage 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 site in California-- more than 450 in the Bay Area
Video: A video archive of this lecture will be available on this website on the Current Season page one to three day's after this event.
August 2008 Flyer (Acrobat PDF)
