[CPEO-MEF] Spring Valley (DC) arsenic phytoremediation

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[Note: On a recent visit to Spring Valley I learned that some property 
owners prefer phytoremediation to excavation - to protect their trees 
and other landscaping. However, the rate of arsenic extraction reported 
in the article below has been disappointingly slow. - LS]

Ferns Successfully Extract Arsenic from Soil in Mid-Atlantic Climate

Technology News Trends
U.S. EPA
May, 2006

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently completed the second 
year of a field verification study on the potential for phytoremediation 
to address elevated arsenic concentrations in soil at the Spring Valley 
Formerly Used Definse Site (FUDS) in Washington, DC. The study began in 
2004 at two residential areas and one public-access area and expanded in 
2005 with nine additional residential areas. Five species of ferns were 
selected for their demonstrated capability to extract and store arsenic 
in their fronds. The use of small plants such as ferns also minimized 
destruction of existing neighborhood trees and other sensitive landscape 
features during the planting process.

Spring Valley FUDS encompasses approximately 661 acres used by the U.S. 
Department of Defense during World War I for production and testing of 
chemical warfare agents, some of which contained arsenic. Investigative 
soil sampling starting in 2001 indicated arsenic concentrations above 
the clean-up goal of 20 mg/kg at a total of 140 sites, primarily in the 
upper surface soil (< 12-inch depths). Although a 2003 engineering 
evaluation and cost analysis specified excavation and backfill as the 
primary clean-up remedy, efforts were initiated the following year to 
evaluate phytoremediation as an alternative for contaminant hotspots in 
sensitive areas. With typical root depths of 12 inches, ferns were 
deemed capable of preventing long-term exposure to the elevated arsenic 
concentrations.

...

For the entire article, see
http://clu-in.org/products/newsltrs/tnandt/view.cfm?issue=0506.cfm#2

--


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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