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Arsenic contamination of drinking water is a problem prevalent throughout the world, and it hasbecome more prevalent in the U.S. following a recent reduction in the maximum contaminant limit(MCL) to 10 g/L. Because As(V) is typically easier to remove than is As(III), arsenic is typicallychemically oxidized using free chlorine or permanganate. However, the potential for exploitingbiological arsenic oxidation for water treatment is slowly being realized. In this study,microorganisms were isolated from water and filter media collected from a Greene County, Ohiodrinking water treatment plant and from bench-scale filters seeded with filter media from theGreene County plant. These isolates were screened for arsenic-oxidation capability andresistance to arsenic. Molecular techniques, including 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencingand terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, were used tophylogenetically identify and fingerprint the isolates, respectively. The results demonstrated thepresence of arsenic-oxidizing bacteria in the full-scale and bench-scale samples. Microbialarsenic oxidizers could be an attractive alternative to the chemical oxidants that are traditionallyused in arsenic treatment. Includes 10 references.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/01/2007 Number of Pages: 27 File Size: 1 file , 1.8 MB