FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are the microbes that break down oil?

A. They are microbes collected from natural environments (water, soil, and so on) around the world. They are microbes that particularly favor consuming and breaking down products based on fossil fuels (oil, gas, and the like).

Q. Are the bio-agents safe and natural?

A. Yes. The bio-agents, which contain a high concentration of the microbial communities that break down oil, are environmentally friendly, safe for people, animals, and plants, non-toxic, and contain no pathogenic microbes.

Q. Do the bio-agents contain genetically modified microbes?

A. No. The microbes contained in the bio-agents are 100% collected from natural environments.

Q. What happens if I inhale or swallow the bio-agent?

A. We do not recommend it, of course. It has an unpleasant taste, like eating mud, and the dust can cause sneezing, but it is not toxic. The bio-agents are safe for humans, animals, and plants.

Q. Why do the bio-agents smell like petroleum?

A. It is because the microbes contained in the bio-agents are raised on crude oil as feed, so that they can constantly consume and break down fossil-fuel-based products.

Q. Do the microbes in the bio-agents require special handling?

A. What the microbes need to live is the same as what we humans need, namely oxygen, water, nutrients, and so on. So they are easy to handle. What differs greatly from us, however, is that the microbes require specific food, such as petroleum and fuel.

Q. What happens to the microbes after they break down petroleum or other oils?

A. The microbes die off, or are eaten by other organisms and disappear, settling at a level suited to that natural environment.

Q. What is bioremediation?

A. Bioremediation refers to the process of using microbes to remediate an environment that has been contaminated by pollutants such as oil and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). For details, please see this page.

Q. What kinds of oil can "Oppenheimer Bioremediation" break down?

A. Crude oil; petroleum products (such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, heavy oil, and lubricating oil); BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene); PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); chlorinated hydrocarbons; and the like.