| Abstract: | With the emergence of risk‐based corrective action decisions, there is interest in the use of more natural techniques that may be as protective as the traditional removal, landfill, or capping approaches for impoundment closure. The use of phytoremediation is one of the more promising techniques. This article presents the results of a three‐year field‐pilot phytoremediation study that involved the use of plants to enhance sludge dewatering at an inactive natural gas‐cracking wastewater lagoon. The dewatering was accompanied by contaminant reduction of benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX), and naphthalene concentrations to below the cleanup goals. Meanwhile, the concentration reductions of three or more ring polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) varied between 30 percent and 60 percent, except for dibenza,h]anthracene. The residual PAHs in the sludge are not leaching. Parallel laboratory studies suggest a reduced PAH availability and mobility in the unsaturated zone sludge. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
