Company develops oil cleaning process

WARREN, R.I. (WPRI) - A Warren company says they are developing technology that could help clean up the oil damage on the Gulf Coast caused by the BP oil spill.

Researchers at Pro-Act Biotech are working on new technology that could help clean up the oil that has washed ashore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Chuzhao Lin is working on an experiment that would use microbes to clean oil-soaked water. The process already happens naturally but this procedure would speed things up.

The experiment uses an army of sorts of microbes to break down the oil. After just five days the simulated marsh filled with oil shows cleaner looking plants and the oil actually degrading.

The Environmental Protection Agency is now testing the procedure. The experiment and results needed to win their approval should take two to three months.