Phytotechnology Project Profiles
Phytoremediation at RTDF Site C in Arkansas
Last Updated: December 2006 |
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| Site Information | ||
| Site Name, Location: | RTDF Site C, Barrow, AK, United States | |
| Site Type: | Aboveground Storage Tank | |
| 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 C in Arkansas | ||||||||||||||||
| Site History and Background: | Sources of waste are a former dry cleaning facility and a former tank farm. Fuel tanks contained diesel fuel, gasoline, Mogas and JP-5 jet fuel. The tanks were removed in 1990, but residual contamination remained from at least two tanks that were known to have leaked. | ||||||||||||||||
| Scale: | Pilot/Field Demonstration | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Status: | Complete | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Start Date: | June 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Completion Date: | September 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| Media Treated: |
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| Contaminants Treated: |
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| Phytotechnology Mechanism(s): | Rhizodegradation Phytodegradation |
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| Plants and other Vegetation Used: | Clover Rye Grass Fescue |
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| Planting Description: | Treatment 1 & 2: 15% Annual Rye Grass, 60-70% Arctared Red Fescue, and 20-25% White Clover Treatment 3 & 4: unvegetated There was minimal soil preparation prior to seeding. Seeds were surface-applied using handheld seeders and then pressed into the soil. The maximum permissible (less than 2,000 mg nitrogen/kg of soil) quantity of standard agricultural fertilizer was added to Treatments 1 and 3. | ||||||||||||||||
| Planting Area: | 1,792 square feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Climate: | The area is very cold and dry. Temperature ranges from -19F in February to 40F in July. The average annual precipitation is 4.6 inches. High relative humidity (90 to 95%) in the summer leads to foggy conditions about 25% of the time. Growing season - up to 56 days; Average first frost - anytime; Average last frost - early July | ||||||||||||||||
| O & M Requirements: | Treatments 1 and 3 were fertilized. Unvegetated plots were not weeded. | ||||||||||||||||
| Performance Data: | Contaminant concentrations were reduced, but there was no clear advantage shown among treatments. Significant plant growth was observed in fertilized areas, and long term cleanup goals are anticipated to be achieved only after continued remediation during future thaw periods. | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of the Phytotechnology Project: | Capital cost - $7,250 O&M - $1,400/year Other costs - $6,000/year (includes long-term monitoring, regulatory oversight, compliance testing/analysis, excavation, and disposal of residues) Total cost (based on 10,000 ft2 treatment area, 2 ft treatment depth, and 10 year period of operation) - $27,250 | ||||||||||||||||
| Lessons Learned: | 1. Plants have a positive effect on petroleum depletion relative to either nutrients alone or control treatments. 2. The effect is not uniform across all petroleum fractions. 3. The effect is not seen by standard monitoring techniques. 4. Nutrients alone can have an inhibitory effect on depletion of some petroleum fractions. 5. There are measurable microbial changes that support, and probably drive, the contaminant changes. | ||||||||||||||||
| Comments: | Lessons learned during field demonstrations are applicable to applications at a larger scale. Though implementation is relatively straightforward, unfortunately, so are ineffective or incorrect implementation steps. Consideration should be given to altering the monitoring strategy to fit the technology being used; such as timing the sampling event with respect to the status of the system rather than the calendar, selecting an appropriate variable to monitor, and determining how to sample with respect to the selected monitoring variable. The appropriate variable may vary with the degree of "completeness" of the remediation process. | Point(s) of Contact |
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C. M. (Mike) Reynolds Technical lead ERDC-CRREL 72 Lyme Road Hanover, NH United States Telephone: (603) 646-4394 Fax: (603) 646-4561 E-mail: charles.m.reynolds@erdc.usace.army.mil |
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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). EPA. Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable. 2005. Technology Cost and Performance Report Summary: Rhizosphere-Enhanced Bioremediation of Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL)-Contaminated Soils at Three Sites in Alaska. http://costperformance.org/pdf/20050614_367.pdf Phytoremediation at the former tank farm and former dry cleaning facility in Alaska http://cluin.org/products/phyto/search/phyto_details.cfm?ProjectID=81 Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. 2004. ESTCP Cost and Performance Report: Field Demonstration of Rhizosphere-Enhanced Treatment of Organics-Contaminated Soils on Native American Lands with Application to Northern FUD Sites. Reynolds, C.M., ERDC-CRREL, Hanover, NH. ERDC/CRREL/LR-04-19 http://costperformance.org/pdf/20050614_367.pdf |
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