United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/540/MR-99/501
July 1999
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Demonstration Bulletin
Soil Rescue Remediation Solution
Star Organics, L.L.C.
Technology Description: Star Organics, L.L.C. (Star), has
developed a remediation solution that binds heavy rnetal
contaminants in .soils and sludges. The solution, Soil Rescue,
consists of weak organic acids that occur naturally in trace
concentrations in the soil, phosphoryl esters, and other
organic components. The solution is typically surface sprayed
where contamination is shallow (to about 8 inches), or
pressure-injected where contamination is deeper. The
application of Soil Rescue can be repeated, if necessary, until
the contaminant metal concentrations are reduced to below
applicable cleanup standards.
According to Star Organics, Soil Rescue does not destroy or
remove toxic metals from the:soil or sludge, instead, the
metals are bound in coordinate covalent complexes having
large molecular structures and very low solubility. Soil Rescue
is essentially a mixture of weak organic acids and phosphoryl
esters that stabilize toxic metals by forming multiple ligands
with a central metal cation.
Waste Applicability: According to Star Organics, Soil
Rescue remediation solution is effective in reducing the
solubility of barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and
zinc. In situ remediation of contaminated soil may be achieved
in permeable soils with shallow contamination by spraying
Soil Rescue onto the surface. Where poor permeability does
not permit fluid penetration, or where contamination is more
than 8 inches below the surface (up to 15 feet), Soil Rescue
may be applied using pressure-injection. For those situations
where surface spraying or pressure-injection do not apply,
Soil Rescue can be applied to excavated soil in a pug mill.
The soil can be treated on site and placed back in its original
location. For sites with high concentrations of teachable heavy
metals, the application process (surface spraying, pressure
injection, or pug mill) can be repeated until the concentrations
of metals in the media are reduced to levels below the
applicable cleanup standards.
Evaluation Approach: The Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency (Ohio EPA) and U. S. EPA, through a cooperative
agreement, evaluated the Soil Rescue remediation solution
at the Crooksville/Roseville Pottery Area of Concern (CRPAC)
in Roseville, Ohio. Soil Rescue was evaluated at CRPAC to
determine its ability to reduce the amount of teachable lead
in industrial and residential soils, as determined by theToxicity
Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). Soil Rescue was
concurrently evaluated for its ability to reduce the relative
percent of bioavailable lead as determined by a Physiological-
based Extraction Test (PBET) in residential soils.
The evaluation consisted of treating 10 experimental units in
a residential area, and one experimental unit in an industrial
area. The experimental units in the residential area measured
5 feet long by 5 feet wide. The experimental unit at the
industrial site measured 6 feet long by 3 feet wide. After the
sod was removed from all of the experimental units, the
contaminated soil was mechanically mixed to a depth of 6
inches. Soil samples were collected before the treatment
process was applied. The experimental units were treated
with Soil Rescue by spraying the remediation solution onto
the surface, and then treating the soil to a depth of 2 feet by
injecting the solution using an injection wand. The units were
resampled after a minimum of 72 hours following the
application of Soil Rescue. The original sod cover was
returned to nine of the experimental units; one residential unit
was reseeded with fescue to determine whether plant uptake
of contaminants occurred following treatment. Lysimeters
were installed to a depth of 6 inches in one unit at the
residential site and in the unit at the industrial site. The water
collected in the lysimeters will be analyzed on a quarterly
basis for lead to aid in determining the long-term effectiveness
of the treatment.
Preliminary Results: Results of the pre- and post-treatment
TCLP lead analysis for the pretreated and post treated
industrial soils are shown in Table 1. Results of the TCLP lead
analysts for the residential soils are shown in Table 2. Key
findings, including complete analytical results and a cost
analysis, will be published in a Technology Capsule and an
Innovative Technology Evaluation Report.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Tib)* 1. TCLP Lted Results in Industrial Soils
Table 2. TCLP Lead Results In Residential Soils
Sampling
Location
U1
U2
U3
U4
U5
U8
U7
US
U9
Pretreatment
TCLP Lead
Concentration
(mg/L)
453
376
411
364
411
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Post-treatment
TCLP Lead
Concentration
(mg/L)
3.2
3.0
3.6
3.5
2.7
4.0
2.9
3.2
3.2
Experimental
Unit
G
L
T
Note:
Pretreatment
TCLP Lead
Concentration
(mg/L)
13.2
11.9
ND
Post-treatment
TCLP Lead
Concentration
(mg/L)
1.3
1.4
ND
ND Not detected at the reporting limit of 0.50 mg/L.
Note:
N/A
Statistical design of the experiment only required fi
Pretreatment samples for TCLP analyses.
For Further Information:
EPA SITE Program:
Ed Earth, Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
26 Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7669; FAX: (513) 569-7571
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