| Author
|
Post |
 
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Tree planting at Chevy in the Hole to help clean up contaminants
Published: Friday, July 29, 2011, 9:46 AM Updated: Friday, July 29, 2011, 9:46 AM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal The Flint Journal
Flint Journal file photoThe former Chevy in the Hole site is shown in this 2009 file photo.
FLINT, Michigan — For the first time in decades, residents will begin to see development at the former Chevy in the Hole manufacturing complex.
But instead of factories, the concrete wasteland will become home to hundreds, maybe even thousands, of trees helping to clean up the former General Motors property and transform it into a low-maintenance green space.
The tree-planting project will be the first visible step forward in a long-term plan to make over the Flint River corridor and the Chevy in the Hole site, which served as the backdrop for the Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37 and now holds a prominent place on the riverfront between downtown Flint and Kettering University.
“It’s an exciting prospect for the city and for the river,” said Rebecca Fedewa, executive director of the Flint River Watershed Coalition. “(Chevy in the Hole) sort of looks like a big old scar on our city. This will certainly change it. It will soften up some of the edges of our city and make (the site) a more welcoming place to go.”
Flint is using a $375,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to survey the eastern portions of the property and plant a variety of trees that are expected to help with the natural breakdown of contaminants at the former industrial site.
The trees also will help prevent groundwater at the site from carrying contaminants into the Flint River, officials said.
The planting could begin as early as this fall on the portion of the complex east of Chevrolet Avenue and south of the Flint River, said Steve Montle, Flint’s green cities coordinator.
The smaller portion of the complex west of Chevrolet requires a more serious approach that is being developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Montle said.
But the city is working with local engineers to manage the rest of the site, which the Flint Economic Development Corp. obtained for $1 with a quit claim deed from Delphi Corp. in 2008 and later gave to the city.
“We’re using a long-term approach to aesthetically and environmentally improve the area,” Montle said. “For the most part, we’re going to green it up, take it from being a negative to a neutral, and then, hopefully, to a positive asset.”
The city’s forestry grant will be combined with another from the EPA for some additional environmental work and study, said Matt Didier, brownfield project manager with the EPA’s Chicago office.
Didier said cities all over the country have abandoned industrial sites, but Flint is unusual in its approach.
“This is one of the few places where the local government is willing to recognize no one else is going to deal with the property,” he said. “We’ve got a city that’s taking our source of cleanup funding and combining it with another source, the forest service grant.
“I’m not aware of anybody else doing that or trying to do that.”
Montle said the ultimate goal is to mitigate the pollutants present in the soil and groundwater through a process called “phytoremediation,” in which trees take the water from the ground, stabilize or reduce contaminants, and transpire the water as a neutral vapor, according to the EPA.
The city is working with WadeTrim, Environmental Consulting & Technology and AKT Peerless for engineering work and professional services for the project.
As for whether trees will grow on the site, Montle said it shouldn’t be a problem.
“They’re growing there now,” he said. “The natural process sort of takes over (at abandoned sites). We’re just going to speed that up.”
Sponsored Links |
|
|
Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:21 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
jacksondm July 29, 2011 at 10:59AM
Follow
The trees actually 'suck the contaminents' ouf of the soil and absorb them -- to a certain extent. It assists in cleaning the site, as well as beautifying it. The alternative is a massive excavation of the site -- which actually releases more contaminents in the process -- and costs hundreds or thousands of times more money. This is a long-term / slow going / cleansing of the ground and protection of the water (which then flows into Saginaw River and Lake Huron -- from which we pump our drinking water). It's environmentally sound and cost effective. In time it will provide a great opportunity for future (even if limited) development of the site.
Inappropriate? Alert us.Reply Post new |
|
|
|
Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:24 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Transgenic Popular Trees Being Used to Leach Toxins From Soil
Transgenic Popular Trees Being Used to Leach Toxins From Soil ... Chrysler LLC in a project to use poplar trees to eliminate pollutants from a contaminated ...
http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news1.31c.html - 12k - Cached - Similar pages
Transgenic Popular Trees Being Used to Leach Toxins From Soil
Purdue University researchers are collaborating with Chrysler LLC in a project to use poplar trees to eliminate pollutants from a contaminated site in north-central Indiana.
The researchers plan to plant transgenic poplars at the site, a former oil storage facility near Kokomo, Ind., this summer. In a laboratory setting, the transgenic trees have been shown to be capable of absorbing trichloroethylene, or TCE, and other pollutants before processing them into harmless byproducts.
Richard Meilan, a Purdue associate professor, is currently at work to transform one variety of poplar suited to Indiana's climate; cold-hardy poplars are generally more difficult to alter than the variety used in a laboratory setting.
"This site presents the perfect opportunity to prove that poplars can get rid of pollution in the real world," Meilan said.
In a study Meilan co-authored, published last October in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, poplar cuttings removed 90 percent of the TCE within a hydroponic solution in one week. The engineered trees also took up and metabolized the chemical 100 times faster than unaltered hybrid poplars, which have a limited ability to remove and degrade the contaminant on their own, he said.
The transgenic poplars contain an inserted gene that encodes an enzyme capable of breaking down TCE and a variety of other environmental pollutants, including chloroform, benzene, vinyl chloride and carbon tetrachloride.
Meilan said he believes the transgenic poplars will be able to remove the TCE from the site, named Peter's Pond, which was contaminated by tainted oil stored there in the 1960s. The chemical, used as an industrial solvent and degreaser, lies within 10 feet of the surface, making it accessible to poplar roots, he said.
Poplars grow across a wide geographic range and in many different climates, Meilan said." |
|
|
|
Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:07 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
You are here: EPA Home
Superfund
Accomplishments & Performance Measures
Archived News Stories
Using Phytoremediation to Clean Up Sites
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
??
Using Phytoremediation to Clean Up Sites
Phytoremediation is the direct use of green plants and their associated microorganisms to stabilize or reduce contamination in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water, or ground water. First tested actively at waste sites in the early 1990s, phytoremediation has been tested at more than 200 sites nationwide. Because it is a natural process, phytoremediation can be an effective remediation method at a variety of sites and on numerous contaminants. However, sites with low concentrations of contaminants over large cleanup areas and at shallow depths present especially favorable conditions for phytoremediation. Plant species are selected for use based on factors such as ability to extract or degrade the contaminants of concern, adaptation to local climates, high biomass, depth root structure, compatibility with soils, growth rate, ease of planting and maintenance, and ability to take up large quantities of water through the roots.
Oregon Poplar Site
The Oregon Poplar site, located in Clackamas, Oregon, comprises three to four acres within a vacant parcel located parallel to the small Mt. Scott Creek stream. The site had been an abandoned grassy field in a primarily commercial and light industrial area. Contaminants of concern at the site were primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs), resulting most likely from illegal dumping activities. The ground water beneath the site is shallow (two to ten feet below the ground surface), locally confined, and in hydraulic contact with the Mt. Scott Creek stream. These characteristics along with low concentration of contaminants and little to no risk to human health make the site a good candidate for phytoremediation.
Hybrid poplar trees were planted on site in 1998 to remediate the ground water contaminated with VOCs. By July 30, 2002, the trees had not only survived, but shown considerable growth. Four of the larger trees were selected as the focus of sampling because their roots most likely be in contact with contaminated ground water. Although the water and soil samples proved inconclusive, tissue samples taken from the four trees indicated that the trees were actively removing VOCs from the ground water and soil. Although tissue samples from all sections of the trees revealed contaminant uptake, higher contaminant concentrations seemed to be found in the trunk rather than the leaf tissue. The picture above shows the collection of gas and water vapor from a poplar tree at the site. The success of the trees at the Oregon Poplar site supports the notion that phytoremediation may be an innovative technology worthy of nationwide consideration.
J-Field at Aberdeen Proving Ground
The once toxic pits of J-Field, located in the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford County, Maryland, were used as a disposal site for chemical warfare agents, munitions, and industrial chemicals from 1940 through the 1970s. The two most prevalent contaminants of concern in the ground water at the site included Trichloroethene (TCE) and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (1122). In the Spring of 1996, a phytoremediation study was implemented to determine if the contaminants underlying J-Field could be removed through phytoremediation using various tree species.
Chosen for their rapid growth and high transpiration rates, 183 hybrid poplar trees were planted over an area of approximately one acre in 1996. VOCs and the chemicals they break down into have been detected in the leaf tissue and gas and water vapor expelled by the trees, indicating that the poplars are removing, degrading, and releasing the contaminants of concern. Sap flow rates and shallow ground water levels also indicate that the trees are intercepting and removing the contaminants from the site. Finally, it is possible that the trees may also be enhancing the soil community, although further investigation is needed to determine this. It is estimated that within 30 years, contaminants at J-Field may be reduced by up to 85 percent.
For more information on phytoremediation, download the Brownfields Technology Primer: Selecting and Using Phytoremediation for Site Cleanup . For more information on either of these phytoremediation sites, contact Harry Compton, U.S. EPA, (732) 321-6751, compton.harry@epa.gov.
Using Native Plants in Phytoremediation
Use of native plants in phytoremediation provides advantages over other species and helps bring back the heritage of flora lost through human activity. In addition to restoring biodiversity to areas that have been disturbed, remediating Superfund sites using native species provides for wildlife habitat enhancement and conservation and saves money over alternative cleanup methods. Unlike many introduced species, once established, native plants do not require fertilize, pesticides, or watering. As encouraged by the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative, use of native plants in site restoration may serve to restore wetlands and other habitats and create nature parks, sanctuaries, and other green areas.
Two Presidential documents address the use of native species in Federal projects and their protection from invasive or introduced foreign species. The first is the April 26, 1994 "Memorandum on Environmentally Beneficial Landscaping". The second document is Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999 - Invasive Species. For more information on use of native plants in restoration of Superfund sites, contact Scott Fredericks, U.S. EPA, (703) 603-8771, fredericks.scott@epa.gov. You can also learn about phytoremediation work being done by some faculty members at the University of Washington. |
|
|
|
Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:18 am |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Profile
FlintTalk.com Forum Index
> Political Talk
