Field Test of In Situ Soil Amendments at the Tar Creek National Priorities List Superfund Site

Abstract

A range of soil amendments including diammonium phosphate fertilizer (DAP), municipal biosolids (BS), biosolids compost, and Al- and Fe-based water treatment residuals were tested on Pb-, Zn-, and Cd-contaminated yard soils and tailings at the Tar Creek NPL site in Oklahoma to determine if amendments could restore a vegetative cover and reduce metal availability in situ. For the yard soils, all amendments reduced bioaccessible (assessed with a physiologic-based extraction method) Pb, with reductions ranging from 35% (BS+Al, DAP 0.5%, DAP+Compost+Al) to 57% (Compost+Al). Plant Zn (Cynadon dactylon L.) and NH4 NO3-extractable Cd and Zn were also reduced by a number of amendments. For the tailings, all amendments excluding BS reduced bioaccessible Pb, with the largest reductions observed in the DAP 3% and DAP3%+BS treatments (75 and 84%). Plant growth was suppressed in all treatments that contained DAP for the first season, with the highest growth in the treatments that included compost and biosolids. In the second year, growth was vigorous for all treatments. Plant Zn and Cd and extractable metal concentration were also reduced. A number of treatments were identified that reduced bioaccessible Pb and sustained a healthy plant with reduced metal concentrations. For the yard soil, Compost+Al was the most effective treatment tested. For the tailings, BS+DAP 1% was the most effective treatment tested. These results indicate that in situ amendments offer a remedial alternative for the Tar Creek site.

Stormwater Bioretention Systems: Testing the Phosphorus Saturation Index and Compost Feedstocks as Predictive Tools for System Performance

“…The lower Cu concentrations may be related to the addition of WTRs in this treatment rather than being a consequence of the PSI. Iron‐based residuals have been shown to reduce metal availability in contaminated soils (Brown et al, 2007). The higher leachate Cu concentrations in the 0.5 PSI treatment may be related to higher turbidity in these columns.…”

“…Despite these interactions, the results suggest that all of the PSI values and compost types included in this study were highly effective at reducing total and dissolved Cu in the leachate in comparison to the stormwater. Previous work has shown that organic residuals, such as composts and biosolids, are effective at reducing metal availability (Brown et al, 2007). Removal efficiency increased over time for the duration of this trial.…”

Amending Soils With Phosphate As Means To Mitigate Soil Lead Hazard: A Critical Review Of The State Of The Science

“…These studies investigated various amending agents including phosphoric acid, diammonium phosphate, rock phosphate, and TSP at levels up to 32 g P/kg PHOSPHATE AMENDMENTS AND SOIL LEAD BIOAVAILABILITY 363 Brown et al (2007) Mining DAP 10 g P/kg 6-18 mo 2.2 0.53 Brown et al (2007) Mining DAP 30 g P/kg 6-18 mo 2.2 0.24 Chaney et al (2011) Mining, smelting PA 5 or 10 g P/kg NA 2.5 0.31 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting RP 10 g P/kg NA 1.5 1.05 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting TSP 10 g P/kg NA 1.5 1.05 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting TSP 32 g P/kg NA 1.5 0.88 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 3 mo 1.5 1.01 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 3 mo 1.5 0.93 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 1.5 yr 1.5 0.9 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 2.5 yr 1.5 0.86 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 2.5 yr 1.5 0.80 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg NA 2.0 1.02 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg NA 2.0 0.98 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 32 g P/kg NA 2.0 0.63 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 3 mo 2.0 0.78 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 3 mo 2.0 0.74 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 1.5 yr 2.0 0.76 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 2.5 yr 2.0 0.70 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 2.5 yr 2.0 0.66 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg NA 2.0 0.79 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg NA 2.5 0.86 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 32 g P/kg NA 2.5 0.38 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 3 mo 2.5 0.50 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 3 mo 2.5 0.38 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 1.5 yr 2.5 0.38 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 5 g P/kg 2.5 yr 2.5 0.41 Scheckel et al (2005) Mining, smelting PA 10 g P/kg 2.5 yr 2.5 0.35 Schwab et al (2006) Paint soil …”

“…Brown et al (2007) applied diammonium phosphate to soils at a Joplin site and measured extractable Pb at pH 2. TERs 6-18 mo following treatment with 5, 10, or 30 g P/kg soil were 0.61, 0.53, and 0.24, respectively, suggesting decreasing Pb bioaccessibility with increasing levels of phosphate.…”

Reducing Copper Availability in Contaminated Soils Using Drinking Water Treatment Residuals

“…The authors concluded that such reduction was due to floc-adsorption and co-precipitation processes that are typically used to remove heavy metals from waters and soil. Brown et al (2007) used Al-and Fe-DWTR at a rate of 50 Mg ha −1 in combination with di-ammonium phosphate, composted biosolids, or lime-stabilized biosolids to heavy-metals-contaminated soils and tailings at the Tar Creek National Priorities List Superfund Site in Oklahoma to reduce in-situ metal availability. The use of DWTR as soil amendment may seem feasible due to its demonstrated ability to sorb capacious quantities of As (V), As (III), and Se (IV) (Ippolito et al, 2009;Makris et al, 2006); however, more in-depth research is needed because the behavior of metal contaminants in DWTR-amended agricultural soils is the focus of public concern (Lundstrom, 2010).…”