The EPA Regional Ground Water Forum is a group of EPA professionals representing Regional Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Offices committed to the identification and resolution ofground-waterissues impacting the remediation of Superfund and RCRA sites. The Forum is supported by and advises the Superfund Technical Support Project. Emerging technologies that could provide effective cleanup at hazardous waste sites are of interest to the Forum. Phytoremediation the use of plants in remediation is one such technology. This issue paper focuses on the processes and applications of phytoremediation for remediation of hazardous waste sites.

"This [volume] provides a general overview of phytotechnologies. Authors from private industry, academia, the consulting community and regulatory agencies have all contributed to [it]. Starting with the basic processes and mechanisms occurring in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, the typical applications of vegetation for cleaning up and remediating contaminated sites are described. Since the growth of vegetation is paramount to this technology, the factors within the subsurface environment affecting growth are discussed in detail as well. These include the processes and factors in the soil environment that affect the plant and the subsurface microbial community. After these two "introductory" chapters, the most prevalent applications of phytotechnologies are reviewed. These include vegetated systems for treating organic and inorganic contaminants in solid media, hydraulic systems for controlling and treating contaminant groundwater plumes, and vegetative covers for surface water protection and landfill leachate management. Finally, this monograph concludes with a discussion of the regulatory implications of applying this technology towards the clean up and remediation of contaminated sites worldwide."--Pages ix-x

As government and community leaders, private companies, citizens, and applied scientists search for low-cost methods to cleanup environmental pollution, phytotechnologies can contribute to the solution by utilizing natural processes to reduce environmental risk. Phytotechnologies use vegetation to manage environmental contaminants in soil, surface water, and groundwater based on site-specific design considerations that can save 50 to 75 percent of the capital and operating costs compared to conventional remediation and containment technologies. Successful phytotechnology applications are based on scientific knowledge of plant physiology, chemical contaminants, climate, and soil conditions. This book presents current research findings that address soil and water contamination with obsolete pesticides, radionuclides and other inorganic and organic contaminants. This book documents international sharing of information by scientists and stakeholders seeking to use the best available information: to disseminate existing knowledge on phytotechnologies and exchange experience of field-scale applications for cleanup of industrial, agricultural, and wastewater contamination, to assess existing knowledge and identify research needs and directions for future work especially in regard to environmental management in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and to promote collaboration between different countries in preparing applications for environmental remediation and restoration.

Most books on ground water and soil cleanup address only the technologies themselvesâ€"not why new technologies are or are not developed. Innovations in Ground Water and Soil Cleanup takes a holistic approach to the entire field, addressing both the sluggish commercial development of ground water and soil cleanup technologies and the attributes of specific technologies. It warns that, despite cleanup expenditures of nearly $10 billion a year, the technologies remain rudimentary. This engaging book focuses on the failure of regulatory policy to link cleanup with the financial interests of the company responsible for the contamination. The committee explores why the market for remediation technology is uniquely lacking in economic drivers and why demand for innovation has been so much weaker than predicted. The volume explores how to evaluate the performance of cleanup technologies from the points of view of the public, regulators, cleanup entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders. The committee discusses approaches to standardizing performance testing, so that choosing a technology for a given site can be more timely and less contentious. Following up on Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup (NRC, 1994), this sequel presents the state of the art in the cleanup of various types of ground water and soil contaminants. Strategies for making valid cost comparisons also are reviewed.