title: Oil biodegradation and bioremediation: a tale of the two worst spills in U.S. history.
abstract: The devastating environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to consume petroleum hydrocarbons. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in reducing the overall environmental impact of both the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA. r.atlas@louisville.edu
authors.forename: Ronald M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Atlas
authors.forename: Terry C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hazen
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release / Q000266:history; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D060851:Gulf of America; D006207:Half-Life; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009821:Oils / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D010578:Petroleum / Q000382:microbiology*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D009821:Oils; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical