communities in carbon cycling and in the biodegradation of organic contaminants. Because
the majority of anthropogenic contaminants are either directly or indirectly derived from fossil
fuels that are devoid of 14C, radiocarbon can be used as a natural inverse tracer of
contaminant carbon in the contemporary environment. Here, 14C analysis of individual
microbial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) was used to characterize the carbon sources …