Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated sediments were collected from the Fox River, Wisconsin, and analyzed for the possible occurrence of reductive dechlorination. Evidence of in-situ dechlorination was observed. However, the extent of this in-situ dechlorination was less than that typically reported in the literature, suggesting that stimulation of further dechlorination was possible.

The use of nutrients and surfactants was explored for stimulating additional dechlorination. The nutrient amendment reported here was found to be inhibitory. Surfactants had varying effects, but none significantly improved dechlorination over control treatments. The most significant factors were observed to be the initial extent of dechlorination and PCB concentration. Additional dechlorination was most likely to be observed in sediments with higher PCB concentration and less initial dechlorination. All sediments converged on a common dechlorination level regardless of the initial state of the sediments.