Biodegradation and Bioremediation of TNT and Other Nitro Explosives

Stenuit, Benoît [UCL] Agathos, Spiros N. [UCL]

Before the emergence of a collective awareness of environmental deterioration and before establishing stringent regulations and being conscious of the high cost of remediation, humankind has developed a techno-industrial capacity and experienced intensive, far-reaching, and devastating military conflicts to bequeath an ever more threatening and polluted environment to future generations. Specifically, the natural resources and chemicals we use to prepare for wars and to conduct and support military conflicts, as well as the chemicals we just discard during postwar activities, have damaged ecosystems and imperiled human health. For a long time, explosives have attracted our attention as a fascinating tool for blasting and quarrying activities and as a misused destructive power in wartime.