Phytoremediation / Phytoextraction Field-scale Pilot Test

Nutter & Associates conducted a phytoremediation / phytoextraction field-scale pilot test in 2017 at a former wood products site where lumber was pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA).

The site, owned by a major railway company, is under corrective action per the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control as a hazardous waste site. Nutter & Associates developed a detailed study plan to pilot test and evaluate three different plant species treatments for their ability to extract arsenic from contaminated soils and into above ground plant tissue. The study employed a statistics-based randomized block design utilizing six replicates.

Arsenic bioconcentration factors for hyperaccumulating fern species, which is the ratio of arsenic concentration of the above ground plant tissue to the arsenic concentration in the soil, were robust ranging from 14-49, with an overall average of 32. The pilot test substantiated the feasibility of phytoremediation as a component of the site’s remedial actions.