Bioremediation and bioprevention - the use of micro-organisms to treat or avoid pollution - are increasingly recognized as treatments of choice in an impressive range of areas. These techniques are more and more employed in both traditional and novel applications to treat air, water, and soil to monitor and prevent pollution to manage life cycles and renew materials and to carry energy. At the OECD Workshop Tokyo '94, 130 international experts from 16 countries met to review the latest scientific and technical advances in the field. As the studies they presented make clear, these are safe and effective technologies. However, they are still at an early stage of development, and their efficacy, reliability, and predictability must and can be improved.
