Field Demonstration of Rhizosphere-Enhanced Treatment of Organics- Contaminated Soils on Native American Lands with Application to Northern FUD Sites

摘要

This document is a Cost and Performance Report for the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) Project No. 1011, Field Demonstration of Rhizosphere-Enhanced Treatment of Organics-Contaminated Soils on Native American Lands with Application to Northern Formerly Used Defense (FUD) Sites. The accompanying Final Report provides additional details on the methods used, data from the field demonstration sites, a statement of knowledge gaps, and suggestions on how these data and approaches can be used in other situations dealing with surface soil contamination. This project included field demonstrations of rhizosphere-enhanced bioremediation of petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) at three cold sites in Alaska. The demonstrations evaluated the use of rhizosphere-enhanced remediation in northern regions where low temperatures, site inaccessibility, permafrost, and freeze-thaw cycles limit or, in many cases, prevent cost-effective application of traditional technologies and emerging innovative technologies. POLs are widespread contaminants at many northern facilities owned, formerly owned, or formerly used by the Department of Defense (DoD). In cold regions, POLs and especially the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon fraction (PAH) are persistent in soils because of the low mean annual soil temperatures and the brevity of the summer season. Some constituents in POLs are known human carcinogens. Cleanup problems are compounded for sites that are in remote, inaccessible areas. The DoD has many sites in Alaska constructed during World War II and expanded in the cold war era when fuel was often transported and stored in 55-gallon drums, and accidental POL releases resulted. At many of these sites, mobilization and demobilization costs are excessive, and, in some cases, ground transportation is possible only in winter when the soil is frozen.