Method
How we use the research.
Published studies tell us what's worth trying, and lab tests on your site tell us what worked.
Two kinds of evidence, kept apart
Everything on this site comes from one of these two columns, and we label which. Only species that the lab analysis found in our products are named.
| Question | Peer-reviewed studies | Testing on your site |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Published research on a species identified in our products | Lab analysis of soil from your site, before treatment and after |
| Who produces it | University and government researchers, through journal peer review | An independent commercial laboratory, using standard methods |
| What it tells you | That an organism is documented to break down, transform or bind a contaminant, usually one strain under study conditions | What changed in your soil, measured against your own baseline |
| What it can't tell you | How fast anything will happen in your soil | Much at all after a few weeks, since it takes months of repeat sampling. |
| Where you'll see it | The microbe library, contaminant pages and white paper, each claim with a numbered citation | Project reports, and the East Palestine page once follow-up testing is complete |
Claims we won't make
- That a product cleans, detoxifies or remediates a site.
- That our products are university-tested.
- Pilot numbers, before the follow-up testing is done.
The people who read this site decide what happens to public land and how public money gets spent. They need to know which statements come from a journal and which come from their own soil samples.
Biology in soil also takes months, often a year or more, so budget and schedule for that from the start.
Want the study behind a specific claim?
Tell us which page and which sentence, and we'll send the paper; if the claim reaches further than the study does, we'll fix the page.
Vik Chhabra
Business Development, Elm Dirt
Vik is the first call for agencies, consultants, landowners and applicators, and he brings in the science and manufacturing side when a site needs it.
It helps to send the site location, what happened there, and any lab reports or maps.