Greening a Steel Mill Slag Brownfield with Biosolids and Sediments: A Case Study

Abstract

The former US Steel Corporation's South Works site in Chicago, IL, is a 230-ha bare brownfield consisting of steel mill slag fill materials that will need to be reclaimed to support and sustain vegetation. We conducted a case study to evaluate the suitability of biosolids and dredged sediments for capping the steel mill slag to establish good quality turfgrass vegetation. Eight study plots were established on a 0.4-ha parcel that received biosolids and dredged sediment blends of 0, 25, 50, or 100% biosolids (v/v). Turfgrass was successfully established and was thicker and greener in biosolids-amended sediments than in unamended sediments. Concentrations of N, P, K, and micronutrients in turfgrass tissues increased with increasing biosolids. Soil organic carbon, N, P, and micronutrients increased with increasing biosolids. Cadmium, Cu, Ni, and Zn concentrations in biosolids-amended sediments also increased with increasing biosolids but were far below phytotoxicity limits for turfgrass. Lead and Cr concentrations in biosolids-amended plots were comparable to concentrations in unamended sediments. Groundwater monitoring lysimeters and wells below the study site and near Lake Michigan were not affected by nutrients leaching from the amendments. Overall, the results from this case study demonstrated that blends of biosolids and dredged sediments could be successfully used for capping steel mill slag brownfield sites to establish good quality turfgrass vegetation.

Soil in the City: Sustainably Improving Urban Soils

“…The addition of biosolids was shown to mitigate this problem and had a significant positive effect on soil organic carbon, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorous, and microbial biomass and activity 1 yr after blending with sediments (Kelly et al, 2007). The Chicago Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago considered the use of biosolids blended with sediments for capping a portion of the former US Steel Corporation's site as an option for establishing parkland vegetation, and a case study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of biosolids and dredged sediments for capping the steel mill slag to establish good quality turfgrass vegetation (Brose et al, 2016). Overall, the results from this case study demonstrate that blends of biosolids and dredged sediments could be successfully used for capping steel mill slag brownfield sites to establish good quality turfgrass vegetation.…”

“…In general, the addition of organic soil amendments, such as biosolids, manure, and composts, restores soil ecosystem functioning. The work of Brose et al (2016) clearly shows that by using biosolids and dredged sediments, it is possible to grow plants even on steel mill slag and that with time, fertility of the soil improves. Basta et al (2016) address the use of biosolids and composts used successfully to improve soil ecosystem functioning of the Lake Calumet Cluster Site in Calumet, IL, a Superfund site impacted by heavy industry in the region.…”

“…Due to these properties and their availability in metropolitan areas, biosolids are also considered an important resource to economically revegetate brownfields as Brose et al (2016) demonstrate. The former US Steel Corporation's South Works site in Chicago, IL, is a 230-ha brownfield situated along the southern lakefront that needed to be reclaimed to support and sustain vegetation before development.…”

Lift up of Lowlands : beneficial use of dredged sediments to reverse land subsidence

“…Usually coarse sediments, such as gravel and sand, are more suitable for these uses than fine sediments (PIANC 1992). Some examples of engineered uses of dredged sediments are land creation, improvement and restoration (Yozzo et al 2004), offshore berms and shore protection (Coulet et al 2014, Malasavage et al 2012, replacement fill (Perrodin et al 2012) and capping (Brose et al 2016, Eek et al 2007). …”

“…Supplementary Material Table A1: Summary of case studies of beneficial use of dredged sediments Compressive strength  Class strength Cement clinker (Aouad et al 2012) River  Only particles than 2 mm were crushed to reach a particle size smaller than 100 μm  Cadmium, Zinc (Brose et al 2016) n.a.…”