A method for in situ bioremediation of contaminants in the environment is
described. The method includes adding an electron donor to ground water
in an amount sufficient for a microbe in the ground water to use the
electron donor for reducing the contaminant into an innocuous derivative
thereof. Illustratively, the electron donor contains about 0.1 to 75% by
weight of chitin, such as crustacean shell, partially deproteinized
crustacean shell, ground mushrooms, or a fungal fermentation broth. The
chitinous electron donor can be added to the ground water as a
particulate solid or aqueous slurry.