Phytotechnology Project Profiles
Phytoremediation at RTDF Site F in New York
Last Updated: December 2006 |
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| Site Information | ||
| Site Name, Location: | RTDF Site F, Utica, NY, United States | |
| Site Type: | Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) | |
| Is this a Federal Superfund Site? |
No | |
| Is this a Federal or Military Site? |
No | |
Project Information |
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| Project Name: | Phytoremediation at RTDF Site F in New York | ||||||||||||||||
| Site History and Background: | The site is a former manufactured gas plant that operated from 1845 to the mid-1950s. | ||||||||||||||||
| Scale: | Pilot/Field Demonstration | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Status: | Complete | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Start Date: | June 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Completion Date: | 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Media Treated: |
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| Contaminants Treated: |
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| Phytotechnology Mechanism(s): | Phytostabilization Rhizodegradation |
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| Plants and other Vegetation Used: | Hybrid Poplar Willow White Clover Boreal Red Fescue Kentucky Bluegrass Annual Rye Grass Perennial Rye Grass Volunteer Revegetation |
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| Planting Description: | Treatment 1: 16% white clover, 36% boreal red fescue, 36% Kentucky bluegrass, 6% annual rye, 6% perennial rye Treatment 2: Willow, poplar Treatment 3: Volunteer revegetation Treatment 4: Unvegetated | ||||||||||||||||
| Planting Area: | 6,400 square feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Evapotranspiration Rates: | Not available | ||||||||||||||||
| Climate: | Average temperature range - 13 to 80 F; Mean annual precipitation - 43"; Growing season - 175 days; Average first frost - October 19; Average last frost - April 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| O & M Requirements: | None of the plots were fertilized. Unvegetated plot was weeded with glyphosate. | ||||||||||||||||
| Performance Data: | The concentrations of PAHs in surface soil declined, and there was trend showing that vegetated treatments were declining more than the unvegetated treatment, but it was not significant at all time points. Concentrations of PAHs in deeper soil did not change during three growing seasons. Plants grew well with good aboveground and root biomass and coverage of the ground surface. The grass/legume mixture and the willow/poplar treatment showed very high vegetation cover while the natural revegetation treatment took several years to establish full coverage. | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of the Phytotechnology Project: | Not available | ||||||||||||||||
| Lessons Learned: | Vegetation can grow successfully on former manufactured gas plant sites and is probably most useful for stabilizing contamination at similar sites. A grass/legume mixture is likely to produce roots more rapidly than tree or volunteer plantings. Tree plantings are likely to produce deeper roots than herbaceous plantings. Natural revegetation may take several years to establish. Root and mass density is likely to vary from season to season. | Point(s) of Contact |
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Peter Kulakow Kansas State University United States Telephone: (785) 532-7239 E-mail: kulakow@ksu.edu |
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| Information Source(s): | Kulakow, P. 2000. Annual Report of the RTDF Phytoremediation Action Team - TPH Subgroup Cooperative Field Trials. Kulakow, P. 2006. Final Report - RTDF Phytoremediation Action Team TPH Subgroup: Cooperative Field Trials (draft). |
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