Hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and groundwater at oil and gas production sites may be additionally impacted by salts due to release of produced waters. However, little is known about the effect of salt on the in-situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons by terrestrial microbes, especially at low temperatures. To study this effect, we prepared a groundwater-soil slurry from two sites in Canada: a former flare pit site contaminated with flare pit residue (Site A), and a natural gas processing facility contaminated with natural gas condensate (Site B). The slurry with its indigenous microbes was amended with radiolabeled hydrocarbons dissolved in free product plus nutrients and/or NaCl, and incubated in aerobic biometer flasks with gyrotory shaking at either 25 or 10 degrees C for up to 5 weeks. Cumulative production of (14)CO(2) was measured and the lag time, rate and extent of mineralization were calculated. For Site A, concentrations of NaCl >or=1% (w/v) delayed the onset of mineralization of both (14)C-hexadecane and (14)C-phenanthrene under nutrient-amended conditions, but once biodegradation began the degradation rates were similar over the range of salt concentrations tested (0-5% NaCl). For Site B, increasing concentrations of NaCl >or=1% (w/v) increased the lag time and decreased the rate and extent of mineralization of aliphatic and aromatic substrates. Of particular interest is the observation that low concentrations of salt (
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.