Research Project: Environmental Risk Assessment of the Phosphate-based Remedial Technology in Lead Contaminated Land and Soil in Missouri's superfund site.

Project location:
The USEPA - National Center of Environmental Research (NCER).

Objective:
To address whether the risk reduction of soil metals by phosphate-based materials is near permanent, whether the stability of immobilized metals is long-term, and whether the impact of the phosphate technology is environmental-safe.

Summary of Work:
In situ immobilization of (Pb, Cd, Zn) in contaminated soils through phosphate amendments is being tested as a cost-effective remedial alternative to safeguard human health and ecosystem from the environmental contamination. Although the phosphate treatment has been proven to effectively reduce human exposure for contaminated metals, particularly Pb, long-term environmental risk assessment of the phosphate-based remedial technology itself has not been investigated and is largely unknown. Deployment of the immobilization technology using phosphate-based materials requires a comprehensive assessment that verifies the risk reduction to human and ecosystem by in situ soil treatment is long-term and environmental-safe in order to be approved by federal and local regulatory agencies and to become publicly acceptable.

The project will provide much needed scientific evidence of the efficacy and environmental safety of the phosphate-based remedial technology as well as an understanding of metal immobilization processes, which is very important to regulatory agencies and public for decision-making of treatment selection and large-scale implementation of the technology.

For More Information, Contact:

John Yang, Professor / Research Investigator
Lincoln University Cooperative Research
310 Foster Hall
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0029

Phone (573) 681-5383
Fax: (573) 681-5955

E-Mail: John Yang   yangj@lincolnu.edu