The Bioremediation and Phytoremediation of Pesticide-contaminated Sites

FOREWORD Bioremediation and phytoremediation are innovative technologies that have the potential to alleviate numerous pesticide contamination problems. EPA's Technology Innovation Office (TIO) provided a grant through the National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) to prepare a technology assessment report on the use of bioremediation and phytoremediation for the cleanup of pesticide-contaminated sites. This report was prepared by a first year graduate student from the University of Montana during the summer of 2000. It has been reproduced to help provide federal agencies, states, consulting engineering firms, private industries, and technology developers 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 summary and current status of bioremediation and phytoremediation technologies for the treatment of pesticide-contaminated media. 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. 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 http://clu-in.org. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge and thank the individuals and organizations who reviewed and commented on the draft of this document. In particular I would like to acknowledge the Technology Innovation Office and the Office of Pesticide Programs. Finally, I would like to thank those individuals and organizations who contributed information and research assistance for this report. A list of contacts who supplied valuable information are listed in Appendix D.