Environmental Fate of Chloroguaiacols and Chlorocatechols

An account is given of microbial transformations of chloroguaiacols and chlorocatechols. Experiments were carried out with pure cultures of aerobic bacteria and endogenous anaerobic bacteria in contaminated samples of sediment. Particular attention was directed to the role of environmental parameters in determining the fate of compounds discharged into the aquatic environment and to the potentially toxic effects of metabolites. An attempt has been made to assess the environmental significance of the results of laboratory experiments, and the data incorporated into a hypothetical ‘guaiacol cycle'.