TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IN SOIL SUBGROUP
CONFERENCE CALL

December 14, 2001
12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

On December 14, 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)
Steve Rock, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Marcos Alvarez, Environment Canada
Henry Camp, Arthur D. Little Laboratory
Steve Geiger, ThermoRetec, Inc.
Peter Kulakow, Kansas State University
Duane Wolf, University of Arkansas
Christine Hartnett of Eastern Research Group, Inc., was also present.

UPDATE ON FIELD DEMONSTRATION SITES

The TPH in Soil Subgroup has created a field study program to evaluate how effectively plants degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. Call participants provided updates on sites that are participating in the program.

Site A. Peter Kulakow said that he has received data for Site A's time three (T3) soil, root, and shoot samples. These data are currently under review. If they reveal encouraging results, Kulakow said, another round of soil samples will be collected at the end of the fourth growing season.

Site B. Lucinda Jackson said that she plans to talk to Site B's owner to find out if a vegetative cover will be installed. Steve Rock and Kulakow asked for a report of her findings.

Sites C, D, E, F, and G. No updates were provided for these sites.

Sites H and I . Kulakow said that he recently toured these sites. He reported the following: (1) the vegetation is lush, (2) the sites exhibit marked variability in contaminant distribution, and (3) time one (T1) samples have been collected and sent to the Arthur D. Little Laboratory (ADL).

Site J. Duane Wolf said that Site J is exhibiting favorable results. He noted that soil samples were collected 6 months and 17 months after the demonstration project started. TPH concentrations have decreased significantly over this time period, and the reductions recorded in fertilized/vegetated plots exceeded those observed in Site J's fertilized/unvegetated plots. Wolf said that samples were also collected in fall 2001, but that these have not yet been sent to ADL for analysis. More sampling is scheduled to take place in spring 2002 and fall 2002, but funding shortfalls could prevent the latter event from taking place.

Site K. Rock said that EPA collected samples from Site K in November 2001. Kulakow will call Kathy Banks to find out whether Purdue University also plans to collect samples.

Sites L and M. Marcos Alvarez said that plants will be established at Sites L and M in April 2002.

NEXT TPH IN SOIL SUBGROUP MEETING

Rock said that a large phytoremediation conference might be held in November 2002. (This conference would serve as a follow up to the "State of the Science" conference that was held in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2000.) Rock suggested holding the next TPH in Soil Subgroup meeting in conjunction with the large November 2002 meeting. Call participants were enthusiastic about this idea. Locations suggested for the meeting included Cleveland and Niagara Falls. These locations were suggested because they are convenient U.S. travel destinations for Canadians.

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

Conference call participants discussed the following miscellaneous topics:

Next Subgroup conference call. The next TPH in Soil Subgroup conference call will be scheduled for February 28, 2002.

The Subgroup's annual report. Rock said that the annual report will be distributed for review over the next few weeks. He expected all comments to be submitted quickly, and indicated that the annual report would probably be ready for posting on the RTDF Web site before the end of January 2002.

Cost data. Kulakow asked Subgroup members to submit cost data for their sites.

Ferns that accumulate arsenic. Several conference call participants exhibited interest in the ferns that Edenspace Systems Corporation is selling. These plants are capable of extracting very high concentrations (e.g., 20,000 parts per million) of arsenic. Rock said that genetic mapping techniques are being used to identify the trait that confers accumulation properties to the fern. Rock also said that an experiment is underway in New Jersey to determine whether the ferns can survive the winter when protected by 2 feet of straw mulch and a plastic cover.