&EPA
www.clum.org/ecotools
Soil Amendments for Site Remediation & Reuse
A COST-EFFECTIVE IN SITU TECHNOLOGY
Contaminated or disturbed soils at Superfund sites
and other sites can often be addressed effectively and
directly through the application of soil amendments.
The use of soil amendments can be a cost-effective in
situ process for remediation, revitalization and reuse.
This fact sheet provides an overview of how soil
amendments can be used to address on-site
contamination and summarizes some of the resources
that are available to assist with this cleanup approach.
DID YOU KNOW?
Technical Assistance for using soil amendments
to address contaminated soils is available
through EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation
and Technology Innovation (OSRTI). For more
information, please contact Michele Mahoney by
phone at 703-603-9057 or via e-mail at:
mahonev.michele@epa.gov.
Why use soil amendments at
contaminated sites?
Soil amendments can be used to address two primary categories
of problems at contaminated sites: (1) contaminant bioavailability
and phytoavailability; and (2) poor soil health and ecosystem
function.
What types of sites are good candidates
for remediation using soil amendments?
• hard rock mining sites
• coal mining sites
• smelting and refining sites
• construction and mixed-contaminant sites
• other sites (i.e., sites with excess amounts of soluble salts
or pyretic materials)
What are soil amendments?
Soil amendments are materials added to soils in order to improve
soil quality and establish plant growth. Commonly used soil
amendments include:
• municipal biosolids, such as water treatment residuals
• animal manures and litters
• sugar beet lime
• wood ash
• foundry sands, steel slag or
dredged materials
• log yard waste
• residential yard waste
• ethanol production by-products
• neutralizing lime products
• composted biosolids
• composted agricultural byproducts and
traditional agricultural fertilizers
What are the advantages of using soil
amendments?
Soil amendments can reduce the bioavailability of a wide range
of contaminants while simultaneously enhancing revegetation
success and thereby protecting against off-site movement of
contaminants by wind and water. They can be used in situations
ranging from time-critical contaminant removal actions to long-
term ecological revitalization projects.
Using residual materials (such as industrial byproducts) as soil
amendments offers the potential for significant cost savings
compared to traditional alternatives. In addition, land revitalization
using soil amendments can provide significant ecological and
community benefits, including wildlife habitat, species diversity,
food control, aesthetics and recreation.
Notes from the Field
At the California Gulch site in Leadville, Colorado, tailings along the
Upper Arkansas River had low soil pH and elevated concentrations
of metals. Lime was used to amend the soil pH and biosolids were
applied to the tailings. A wide range of earthworm, fish and small
mammal testing was conducted to determine whether the revitalized
habitat was creating an attractive nuisance. Results showed that the
bioavailability of heavy metals present on the site was dramatically
reduced following the application of soil amendments and wildlife
exposure was within acceptable limits.
I U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
I Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
EPA 542/F-l 1/002 I February 2011
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Applications
Determining whether soil amendments are right
for a particular site
What types of contamination can soil amendments address?
Soil amendments have been demonstrated to successfully address soils
contaminated with inorganics, including aluminum, arsenic, borate, high
cadmium-to-zinc ratio, chromate, copper, lead, manganese, molybdenum,
nickel, selenium, sulfate and zinc.
Can soil amendments be incorporated into the site's remedy?
Sites that are between the remedial investigation and feasibility study
stages of the cleanup process are in a good position for the evaluation and
incorporation of soil amendment recommendations as part of the remedy.
For sites where a Record of Decision is in place, soil amendments may be
a technology for consideration during remedial design stage.
How will the site be used in the future?
Soil amendments can remediate soil and "jump-start" the ecological
revitalization of a site, leading to ecological uses such as wetlands and
wildlife habitat. Recreation areas and open space can also benefit from this
approach.
What resources are available to support the use of soil amendments?
Technical assistance is available through OSRTI. Examples of this
assistance include identifying local sources of soil amendments,
conducting plot studies to determine the effectiveness of soil amendment
and re-vegetation techniques, providing guidance for the ecological reuse
of sites, and identifying subject matter experts. For additional resources,
please see below.
Notes from the Field
The underlying soil of the West Page Swamp at the
Bunker Hill site in Shoshone County, Idaho, consisted
of highly contaminated tailings (up to 3 percent lead
and 1.5 percent zinc). These materials were sufficiently
toxic that there was no evidence of ecosystem function
in the swamp and waterfowl routinely developed acute
lead toxicity from ingesting the contaminated sediment.
Remediation included capping contaminated soils with
surface amendments consisting of biosolids compost
and wood ash to restore ecosystem function and
reduce the bioavailability of underlying metals left in
place at the site.
Additional Resources
A range of EcoTools are available online at www.clu-in.org/ecotools/soil.cfm.
For additional information on soil
amendments, please reference the
EPA publication The Use of Soil
Amendments for Remediation,
Revitalization, and Reuse:
www.clu-in.org/download/remed/epa-
542-r-07-013.pdf.
The Ecological Revitalization Project
Profiles Database contains information
about completed and ongoing projects
where ecological revitalization was
part of the solutions used to address
environmental concerns:
www.clu-in.
org/ecotools/
Ecological Revitalization: Turning
Contaminated Properties Into
Community Assets provides technical
information to assist property
managers and other stakeholders better
understand, coordinate and conduct
ecological
revitalization at
contaminated
properties
during cleanup:
www.clu-in.
org/ecotools/
assistance.cfm.
ECOLOGICAL REVITALI
I U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
I Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
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