NOVELTY - A radiation resistant bacterium (I) engineered to detoxify at least one toxin is new.    USE - (I) can be engineered to express heterologous enzymes capable of detoxifying or metabolizing organic compounds, heavy metals and radionuclides. They can be used in aqueous environments or clean-up sites. The use of a film-forming agent in combination with a bacterial strain acts to enhance the activity of the bacterial strain. For example, film-forming agents can be used to increase the surface area where oil is a major contaminant by uniformly spreading a bacterial strain throughout a thin layer of dispersed oil, thereby accelerating the biodegradation process. The bioremediation composition may also be released into an industrial or other waste site. Contaminated wastes which (I) can be used to clean-up include industrial waste, waste from the production of nuclear weapons, waste generated from paper and textile mills, chemical manufacturers, food processing plants, crude oil spills, chemical and solvent leaks and creosote contamination. Specific contaminants include radionuclides (e.g. 235Uranium (gamma, alpha)E, 90Strontium (beta-)E, 238Plutonium (alpha)E, 137Cesium (gamma, beta-)E or 99Technetium (beta-)E), heavy metals (e.g. chromium, lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, cobalt or mercury), organic compounds (e.g. a chlorinated hydrocarbon such as trichloroethylene, fuel hydrocarbon such as toluene or polychlorinated biphenyl such as arochlor), and pesticides, toxicants, agricultural chemicals, algicides, fungicides, sterilants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, polychlorinated biphenyl, greasy waste, crude oil, diesel fuel, waste oil, Bunker 'C' oil, phenolics, halogenated hydrocarbons, terpene alcohols, anthracene, chlorotoluenes, chysene, cresols, di-N-octylphthalate, dichlorobenzene, dichloroethanes, dichloropropanes, dichlorotoluene, 2-ethoxyethanol, ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate, ethylbenzene, fluorene, isoprenoids, methyl ethyl ketone, methylene chloride, naphthalene, pentachlorophenol, phenanthrene, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, toluene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, benzoate, chlorobenzoates, methanol, ethyl acetate, cyclohexanone, ethylbenzene, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, m,o,p-xylene, butyl acetate, camphor, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, d-limonene, linalool, geraniol and citronellol.    ADVANTAGE - In situ bioremediation using specialized microorganisms is less expensive than physicochemical methods. Deinococcus species are extremely resistant to radiation and are therefore suitable candidates for carrying out bioremediation.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for the following:    (1) a bioremediation composition comprising (I); and    (2) a Deinococcus radiodurans strain (II) which metabolizes toluene and is resistant to mercury.