AbstractPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely distributed in the environment originating from both natural and anthropogenic sources. One major anthropogenic source of PAHs is creosote which is used as a wood preservative and contains 85% PAHs (w/w). Industrial facilities carrying out creosote treatment activities can result in major contamination of soil and groundwater at these sites. The current study investigates the potential of Ecopiling as a bioremediation strategy for creosote contaminated soil/sediment at a former wood preservation facility. The results showed that the creosote contaminated sediment had an inhibitory effect on plant growth and reduced the effectiveness of rhizoremediation. However, the use of a clean soil overlay led to a significant decrease in the phyto-toxicity. The use of Ecopiling was found to reduce the sum of EPA 16 PAH concentrations in the sediment by 94-96% after 730 days. Although Ecopiling is a slow process compared to thermal and chemical treatments it has proven to be an effective and low cost process for the remediation of PAHs from industrial sediments.
Reference:
Liu,X, Kiwanuka,S, Cleary, K, Ryan, D, Dowling,DN, Germaine KJ (2016) Use of Ecopiling to remediate PAHContaminated Storm-water Lagoon Sediment. . J Bioremed.Biodeg. 7:4 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6199.1000355 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Use-of-Ecopiling-to-Remediate-PAH-Contaminated-Liu-Kiwanuka/5a02f069890d81f4903f83ed77c6a7012d0bf7ca