SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
PHYTOREMEDIATION ACTION TEAM
TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IN SOIL SUBGROUP
CONFERENCE CALL

October 30, 2001
12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

On October 30, 2001, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum's (RTDF's) Phytoremediation Action Team, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) in Soil Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Lucinda Jackson, ChevronTexaco (Subgroup Co-Chair)
Marcos Alvarez, Environment Canada
Henry Camp, Arthur D. Little Laboratory
Steve Geiger, ThermoRetec, Inc.
Peter Kulakow, Kansas State University
David Tsao, BP America
Duane Wolf, University of Arkansas

Christine Hartnett of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), was also present. Call participants discussed a variety of topics during the conference call. They identified the following action items:

• Submit comments on the Subgroup's annual report. Peter Kulakow said that a draft version of the Subgroup's annual report has been circulated. All comments on this draft must be submitted to Kulakow by mid-November, because the report will be finalized before the end of the year. (Duane Wolf said that he has some comments, and agreed to submit them before the deadline.)
  
  
• Add a "Lessons Learned" section to the annual report. The TPH in Soil Subgroup met face-to-face in September 2001. During the meeting, participants discussed lessons that have been learned at the Subgroup's phytoremediation demonstration sites. These lessons were summarized in the meeting summary report (see http://www.rtdf.org/public/phyto/minutes/tph.) Kulakow will review the summary, modify the "Lessons Learned" information, and incorporate it in the annual report.
  
  
• Update the RTDF Web site. Kulakow agreed to talk to Linda Fiedler about updating the RTDF Web site. Call participants agreed that it would be helpful to create an online "site tour." This feature would enable users to obtain information about sites that are participating in the Subgroup's phytoremediation demonstration program. For each site, Kulakow said, it might be useful to post pictures, data, and information about study design.
  
  
• Review first-year cost data. Subgroup members are tracking the costs that are associated with their demonstration projects. Most Subgroup members have already submitted their first-year costs. Steve Geiger asked call participants to go back and review these data: he is concerned that some of the initial startup costs have been underreported.
  
  
• Submit second-year cost data to Kulakow and start collecting third-year data.
  
  
• Determine whether resources are available for bioavailability studies. Call participants agreed that it would be beneficial to perform bioavailability studies. Kulakow has already started drafting a proposal asking for funds for such studies. Call participants agreed that the proposal should be completed and circulated to potential funders. During the Subgroup's September 2001 meeting, some interest was expressed about collaborating on a relevant project with some Russian scientists under the auspices of Argonne National Laboratories. Geiger said that this avenue has been explored, but does not appear viable at this time. Kulakow indicated that he met someone at the 17th Annual International Conference on Contaminated Soils, Sediments and Water who might be interested in participating in a bioavailability study. Kulakow and Geiger will follow up with this person. Henry Camp said that he too knew of someone working on bioavailability issues, and agreed to tell her about the Subgroup's interest in this area.

  The discussion about bioavailability prompted a discussion about new cleanup standards that are being proposed in Massachusetts. Kulakow said that new polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) standards are being proposed, and that the new standards' values are significantly higher than those in the current standards. Camp said that several groups are evaluating PAH standards in Massachusetts, noting that one of them is examining a risk-based approach similar to the one used by the TPH Criteria Working Group.

• Communicate with Greg Thoma to determine whether he has received all of the Subgroup's root data. Kulakow agreed to follow up on this action item.
  
  
• Submit an abstract for the Arctic and Marine Oilspill (AMOP) conference. Camp noted that an AMOP conference is being held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on June 12-14, 2001. Call participants agreed that it would be beneficial to present information about the Subgroup at the conference. More information about the conference can be found at http://www.etcentre.org/conferences/english/amop_info.html.
  
  
• Schedule another conference call. ERG agreed to set up the next Subgroup conference call for December 14, 2001.