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(AP) - An iron-oxidizing bacteria found in the
Twin Ports could be eating away at docks and other steel
structures, a University of Minnesota, Duluth, professor has found
in new research.

      Randall Hicks discovered the bacteria in samples collected by a
diver.


      The bacteria form a biofilm that can develop a positive
electrical charge, Hicks said. Iron is pulled from the steel
surfaces by a kind of "electroplating in reverse," he said.


      "These types of bacteria are notoriously hard to isolate and
grow," said Hicks, adding that they seem to thrive only in
particular conditions. 

The organisms can prosper only in a
low-oxygen - but not oxygen-free - environment, he said.


      A scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Mississippi's
Stennis Space Center has been using an electron microscope to study
samples and has found bacteria that appear to match the ones Hicks
isolated.


      Researchers are encouraged by the work, but Hicks says he can't
yet conclude that the bacteria is the root cause of the corrosion
problem.


      "It may be a group of micro-organisms working together as a
consortium that are responsible," Hicks said.


      The steel in the Twin Ports has been shown to corrode up to 10
times faster than experts would expect in a freshwater environment.


      Diver and engineer Chad Scott of AMI Consulting Engineers said
the accelerated corrosion in the Twin Ports started in the
mid-1970s.


      Government officials have spent more than $500,000 in the past
two years to study the corrosion issue and look at solutions.

      Hicks said there's more research to be done on the corrosion
issue, but he remains hopeful that officials can come up with a
solution based on the cause.


      "I'm hopeful that through gaining a better understanding of the
problem, it will lead us to better means of remediation," Hicks
said.


      Information from: Duluth News Tribune,
http://www.duluthsuperior.com

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A university professor says his research
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