Phytoremediation of TCE using Populus

FOREWORD The potential use of plants to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater has recently received a great deal of interest. EPA's Technology Innovation Office (TIO) provided a grant through the National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) to assess the status of phytoremediation technologies to clean up shallow groundwater. This report was prepared by a graduate student from Duke University during the summer of 1997. It has been reproduced to help provide federal and state project managers responsible for hazardous waste sites with information on the current status of this technology. NNEMS is a comprehensive fellowship program managed by the Environmental Education Division of EPA. The purpose of the NNEMS Program is to provide students with practical research opportunities and experiences. Each participating headquarters or regional office develops and sponsors projects for student research. The projects are narrow in scope to allow the student to complete the research by working full-time during the summer or part-time during the school year. Research fellowships NNEMS fellows receive a stipend determined by the student's level of education and the duration of the research project. Fellowships are offered to undergraduate and graduate students. Students must meet certain eligibility criteria. About this Report This report is intended to provide a basic orientation and current status of phytoremediation for shallow groundwater. It contains information gathered from a range of currently available sources, including project documents, reports, periodicals, Internet searches, and personal communication with involved parties. No attempts were made to independently confirm the resources used. Jonathan Chappell, NNEMS fellow, would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement received for the completion of this report from the EPA's Technology Innovation Office and from the contributors to this report for the invaluable information and comments they provided for the completion of this paper. While the original report included color images, this copy is printed in one color. Readers are directed to the electronic version of this report to view the color images; it is located at