Ferns used in Spring Valley cleanup

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Toxin Cleanup Goes Natural 
Army Uses Ferns to Absorb Spring Valley Arsenic 

By Manny Fernandez
Washington Post 
August 26, 2004 


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has turned to an unlikely ally in its
attempt to rid Washington's Spring Valley of contaminated soil -- ferns.

That's right: The feathery plants that decorate countless gardens were
discovered a few years ago to have an unusual talent beyond just sitting
there and looking pretty. A certain kind was found to soak up arsenic
from soil like a horticultural sponge.

The Corps of Engineers decided to test the fern's effectiveness in the
Spring Valley neighborhood, which was built on land the Army used for
experimenting with chemical agents and munitions during World War I.
About 2,800 ferns were planted in May at three sites, part of the Corps
of Engineers' investigation and cleanup of an area that includes
American University, embassies and hundreds of residences.

The study marks the first time the Corps of Engineers has tested the
ferns in this capacity in a residential area. The ferns were used by the
agency at the Army's Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J., at a former apple
orchard that had elevated levels of arsenic from insecticides. In a
two-year study, the ferns reduced the arsenic level in the soil by 25
percent, a Corps of Engineers scientist said.

...

for the entire article, see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33716-2004Aug25.html



-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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