Innovative approaches to the bioremediation of contaminated sites

According to a recent survey, more than 500,000 sites, often former industrial sites, contaminated by organic pollutants and/or heavy metals occur in the European Union (EU). EU candidate states also possess a large number of contaminated lands, often located in areas within or near highly populated cities. Therefore, taken together, these sites constitute an enormous environmental problem which the recently enlarged EU has to take care of in the next few years. To address it, innovative and effective site-monitoring tools and strategies along with remediation technologies capable of combining high decontamination efficiency with low costs and impacts on the site infrastructure and living organisms are necessary. In terms of monitoring, biosensors along with ecotoxicity tests and molecular microbiology measurement techniques have become essential tools to reinforce the modern analytical chemistry tools, as they can offer specific information on the actual toxicity and microbial life occurring at the site. In terms of decontamination technologies, the biological ones, i.e., those that typically exploit the activity of pollutant-degrading site-occurring organisms, are greatly preferred to the chemical and physical technologies currently available on the market, as they fully fit the requirements listed above. Both the biological monitoring tools and in particular the innovative bioremediation technologies consist of a sophisticated combination of different aspects of modern biology, chemistry and engineering sciences, and therefore their design, development, and management require a broad and interdisciplinary background that is often not provided by the current EU University programs. Thus, it is necessary to train young EU researchers and technicians in the field of the design, implementation, assessment and site-specific management of the innovative biological monitoring tools and bioremediation technologies that have been recently introduced into the EU. The main objective of the School is to provide 25 selected young European scientists, engineers and technicians with a critical overview of the innovative aspects of the bio-chemical and molecular microbiology tools and bioremediation technologies currently available on the international market, along with experienced guidelines on how these tools and technologies can be selected, combined and adjusted to perform an efficient, reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective monitoring and ex-situ and/or in situ restoration of sites contaminated by organic pollutants and heavy metals.