AUC Riverside environmental engineering team has discovered specific bacterial species that can destroy certain kinds of “forever chemicals,” a step further toward low-cost treatments of contaminated drinking water sources. The microorganisms belong to the genus Acetobacterium and they are commonly found in wastewater environments throughout the world. Forever chemicals, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, are so named because they have stubbornly strong carbon-fluorine chemical bonds, which make them persistent in the environment. … Using bacteria to treat groundwater is cost effective because the microorganisms destroy pollutants before the water reaches wells. The process involves injecting the groundwater with the preferred bacteria species along with nutrients to increase their numbers.