SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
PHYTOREMEDIATION OF ORGANICS ACTION TEAM
TCE IN GROUND WATER SUBGROUP
CONFERENCE CALL

August 10, 1998
3:00 p.m.­4:00 p.m.

On August 10, 1998, the following members of the Phytoremediation of Organics Action Team, Trichloroethylene (TCE) in Ground Water Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Greg Harvey, U.S. Air Force (Subgroup Co-Chair)
Harry Compton, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Subgroup Co-Chair)
Dawn Carroll, EPA, Technology Innovation Office (TIO)
Lee Newman, University of Washington School of Medicine
Larry Erickson, Kansas State University (KSU)
Steve Rock, EPA

Paul Cichy of Rohm and Haas Company was invited to join the conference call.

Also present was Esme Baker of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG).

UPDATE ON FROM JULY 13 CONFERENCE CALL

• Everyone had received the EPA list of common ground water contaminants sent out by Dawn Carroll.
• Carroll contacted Environmental Management Support, Inc. (EMS) about gathering additional information about people who contact the Web site. EMS is following up on this.

POSSIBLE COLLABORATION WITH THE CENTER FOR WASTE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Paul Cichy (Rohm and Haas Company) works with contractors on remediation projects at Superfund and RCRA sites. His company is one of the sponsors of a group called the Center for Waste Reduction Technologies (CWRT). CWRT is composed of chemical industry companies that wish to advance both the understanding of phytoremediation and its implementation in the field. Cichy's group believes that there is a need for good written material on phytoremediation. Such material could be used as a guide in deciding whether or not phytoremediation should be used at a particular site. Cichy's group has reviewed the handbook being produced by Steve Rock's group. Cichy's group is enthusiastic about the handbook and would like to add some additional information to it. Cichy said his group might be interested in working on a phytoremediation project with the RTDF. He wanted to see if the RTDF was interested in collaborating before discussing the idea with members of his group.

Cichy will be communicating with his group concerning this conference call within the next couple of weeks. Additionally he hopes to have a face-to-face meeting with the members of his group in the near future. Greg Harvey asked Cichy to send additional information about the CWRT to either Carroll or EMS.

SUBGROUP MEETING

Conference call participants discussed whether or not they will be able to meet face-to-face during a soil and ground-water conference in Amherst, Massachusetts, October 19-22, 1998. Newman, Rock, and Compton will be attending the conference. Harvey is unsure whether or not he will have the funding to travel to Massachusetts in October. Newman said that she faxed Susan Murphy the information about the proposed meeting. Harvey would like Subgroup members to share recent results at the face-to-face meeting. Compton said that he is actively collecting data at the Aberdeen site. Some data from the Carswell site will also be available for discussion in October.

PROJECT UPDATE

Newman said that she has been doing a lot of field sampling this summer. Her group sent a paper to Environmental Science and Technology and is now waiting for a response. At the Amherst conference, Newman plans to present an overview of all of the projects. The projects include several different compounds and various plants.

Newman also said that she is currently working on the Fort Lewis Project. There is a large TCE plume at the site that has discharged into an off-site lake that is used for recreational activity. Presently two sets of air strippers are being used at the site. According to site representatives, the migration of the plume has been stopped. Representatives are pursuing funding for phytoremediation. Newman is working with Bill Bidlake of the U.S. Geological Survey to create a proposal to send to the Army.

Newman said she is also working with the Keyport Naval Base. The site has a landfill that contains TCE. The landfill is causing problems because it is leaking into a protected wetland area. The site is unusual because the ground water moves very slowly, only 7 feet per year. If too many trees are planted (to stop the plume from migrating) the wetland will dry out. Newman is in the process of determining whether or not plants in the pathway of a landfill seep have been harmed by the chemicals.

SUBGROUP NAME CHANGE

Harvey suggested the Subgroup consider a name change. He said that "Halogenated Organics in Ground Water" might be a more appropriate name. Rock disagreed since the Subgroup had been designed to handle a particular problem and was not envisioned to be a permanent committee. He said that the group is less than halfway done with the work on TCE. Harvey said that dealing with each halogenated organic, one at a time, takes too long. Erickson responded by saying that TCE is an important problem. At the same time, he feels that it is appropriate to discuss related issues. Newman agreed that the principle focus should be on TCE. She went on to say that she cannot give a full explanation of what happens to TCE in plants. A discussion followed on the mechanism of degradation of TCE. Newman stated that, from her results, she is 99 percent positive that TCE degradation is taking place in plants. She went on to say that different conditions might give different results. Rock responded by saying that if the mechanism is plant dependent then the group needs to develop a protocol that would allow people to determine which mechanism is at work.

MISCELLANEOUS

Cichy asked if the Subgroup would be able to advise someone about what to measure when considering whether or not to use phytoremediation. The group responded by stating that they know of a number of parameters that can be used.

Cichy also wondered what factors would cause a site to fail. Harvey said that sites must be appropriate for establishing vegetation. Sometimes there may be barriers that are impenetrable to roots or there may be phytotoxins at the site. Newman pointed out that there is not always enough land to plant all of the trees necessary for plume control. She said that it is important to point out what phytoremediation can and cannot do to prevent inappropriate use of phytoremediation at sites.

EXPANDING THE FOCUS OF THE TCE SUBGROUP

Harvey said that the Subgroup should have peripheral vision. Rock suggested that the Subgroup could focus on phytoremediation of TCE as well as substances that are typically found in TCE plumes. Newman suggested another alternative, dividing the current Subgroup into two subgroups. One subgroup could deal with the science and mechanism of TCE degradation. The other subgroup would be in charge of examining the phytoremediation of other compounds by various plants. Many group members admitted to being interested in both potential subgroup topics. Newman pointed out that is necessary for the group to address industry and community concerns.

Newman has a student that just finished a masters project. The project involved insects and their digestion of leaves. Newman said that she would send the data out as soon as it becomes available. Newman is in the process of examining data pertaining to TCE exposed trees that have been processed into paper. She will share the final data with the group.

ACTION ITEMS

• Carroll agreed to make sure that Erickson and Cichy are put on the mailing list.
• Cichy agreed to speak with his group about the conference call and get back to Harvey regarding a possible collaboration with the RTDF Action Team.

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

The next conference call is scheduled for September 15, 1998, between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EDT).