Feasibility of bioremediation for detoxification of rocket fuel-polluted gr
oundwater was studied in laboratory conditions. A relatively high number (4
x 10(6) CFU/ml) of indigenous rocket fuel-degrading bacteria in the pollut
ed groundwater from the abandoned Keila-Joa missile base was found, but bac
terial growth in batch experiments using groundwater was strongly inhibited
by the high concentration of pollutants. This inhibition was alleviated af
ter at least two-fold dilution by pure water. The efficiency of solar photo
oxidation as a pre-treatment option for bioremediation was studied. Partial
photooxidation of the polluted groundwater (yielding a decrease of the con
centration of-primary aromatic amines by 20%) increased the biodegradabilit
y, but also the toxicity of the groundwater nearly three times. In the cour
se of two weeks of aerobic incubation the primary aromatic amines could be
degraded to the residual concentration of 6-10 mg/l. The removal of primary
aromatic amines was not accompanied by simultaneous reduction of toxicity,
which started to decrease only after amine concentration decreased to its
lowest level of 6-10 mg/l. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv
ed.