Anoxic

Anoxic is an adjective that means without oxygen. For example, anoxic ground water is ground water that contains no dissolved oxygen. Anoxic ground-water conditions at hazardous waste sites are common because biodegradation processes often use up all the available oxygen. A related term is anaerobic.

More Information

• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation–A Review
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants – Lessons Learned
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• How do you Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Cleanup Contaminated Ground Water
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments

References

• Chapelle, F.H., 2000, Ground-Water Microbiology and Geochemistry: New York, John Wiley and Sons, 468 p.
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation, 2000: National Academies Press
• In Situ Bioremediation: When Does it Work?,1993: National Academies Press
• EPA, Underground Storage Tanks Glossary of Technical Terms
• Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup, 1994: National Academies Press
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000: Houghton Mifflin Company, Fourth Edition.

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