Detox via sewage microbes

Researchers have exploited bacteria they found in sewage plants to detoxify tetrachloroethene , a common chemical used to dry-clean clothes that can contaminate air and water ( ACS ES&T Eng. 2025, DOI: 10.1021/acsestengg.4c00900). Scientists at the National University of Singapore theorized that bacteria in sewage sludge might have detoxifying capacities because wastewater commonly contains chlorinated solvents such as tetrachloroethene, which would mean that microbes in sewage plants are frequently exposed to the pollutants and therefore may have evolved ways to digest them. The researchers collected 84 sludge samples from 38 different wastewater treatment plants in 15 cities across China, Singapore, and the US. Using the microbiota extracted from these sludge samples, the study authors measured whether the bacteria could detoxify tetrachloroethene, converting it into ethane. “Remarkably, 63 of 84 sludge microbiota samples from WWTPs completely detoxified tetrachloroethene (PCE) to ethene,” stated the authors in the paper. “These findings have significant