[CPEO-MEF] Treating two types of contamination with one compost

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

I've noted before the military's increasing use of composting to treat
soils contaminated with small concentrations of explosives. Typically,
other organic matter is added to the soil as part of the process.

At the Hawthorne Army Depot, in Nevada, the Army contractor is adding
potatoes, steer manure, alfalfa, and wood chips. The unique aspect of
the Hawthorne project is that the wood chips come from boxes
contaminated with pentachlorophenol. According to the Army Environmental
Center's Winter, 2000 ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE, "The depot project also
proved that bioremediation could also degrade the pentachlorophenol
(PCP) in boxes treated with less than 50 parts per million of this
substance."

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org


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