degrade it. they take it apart molecule by molecule. you start off with a very small concentration. reporter: this is one of several companies pitching a type of oil eating bacteria to help cleanup the gulf. their product m u.n. ox is made from naturally occurring microbes that break down oil that are concentrated, fermented and sprayed on the oil. it s commonly used to cleanup toxic industrial accidents, jet fuel spills. oil-eating bacteria was used to help cleanup the alaska shoreline in 1989. we are speeding up nature. if we leave it for nato do it could take 500 years or more. reporter: oil-eating bacteria has been used with some success along the shoreline. it s never been tried in the open sea. many experts think it will be much less effective there because of the high wind and water. back to you. rick: at this point, steve i guess we ll try anything, steve