In post-industrial American cities, we find a growing number of vacant lots, many of which are contaminated by their industrial past. Remediation of toxic soil, con-taminated with heavy metals, hydrocarbons or PCB, is costly. Especially ow-ners of small properties shy away from these costs and leave their sites vacant, underutilized and undervalued for years.This field guide is designed for all these individual property owners and gives hands-on instructions how to utilize nature in their favor and convert this enor-mous land potential into a productive landscape in the city.

BROWNFIELDS TO GREENFIELDS A field guide to phytoremediation

In New York City, the most populous of American cities, 7.1% of its land is currently vacant. This equals 11,000 acres of underutilized land, roughly the size of Manhattan. Enough land to grow vegetables and fruits for all of New York City‘s Public School children annually. The national avarge of vacant land in cities is 15%, in some cities up to 45% of land is vacant. Much of it is possibly contaminated by previous industrial uses on the site or leftover building ma-terials, especially lead-based paint. Utilizing this land for food production, recreation or housing is not safe unless, the soil and groundwater are free of toxins.Remediation - typically in the form of exacavation of contaminated soil is costly. Instead, these properties lie vacant for years...underutilized and toxic, their value dampened by sights of aban-donement and potential contamination.The following pages illustrate, how property owners can use these years to their advantage and initiate a slow, but cost-effective clean-up process using nature as their ally and collectivly add 11,000 acres of productive landscape to the city‘s healthy environment.

VACANT LAND Growing a productive urban landscape on vacant land

2

Excavation and Fill

$50,000 -100,000 $5,000 - 8,000

Phytoextraction

Half of all vacant lots in New York are smaller than 2,500 sf and owned by individuals. The costs associated with remediating lead contamination on a 2,500sf lot through phytoextraction using Indian Mustard can be reduced to 10% of those using common methods of excavation and fill.

3

E

TCE

ETC

Contaminant are modified along the way and evaporate

AsAs

E

E

E

AsE

AsE

Enzymes in the the roots immobilize contaminants

T

PHYTO A ZAT ON Some p ants can sequester or mmob ze contam nants by absorb ng them nto the r roots and re eas ng a chem ca that converts the contam nant to a ess tox c state. Th s me-chan sm m ts the m grat on of contam nants through water eros on, each ng, w nd, and so d spers on.

PHYTOREMED ATION is the use of plants to remove contaminants from the environment. By harnessing the natural capabilities of plants you can remediate toxic soils, groundwater, surface water, and sediments. Phyto-remediation is a low-cost alternative to traditional brownfield remediation. Instead of removing tons of toxic soil and filling the site with new clean soil, plants remove contaminants from the soil and store it within thier plant tissue. Contaminants succesfully removed in field studies have include heavy metals, radionuclides, chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and explosives.Different plants have different remediative qualities. In order to success-fully remediate toxins in soil or water, the appropriate plant groups have to be planted and monitored. Plants offer an aesthetic as well as an environ-mental value to the city beyond the phytoremdiation process. IMPROVED AIR QUALITY and REDUCTION OF STORMWATER RUN-OFF are among the additional benefits of planting on sites that would otherwise be underutilized until funding for soil removal becomes available.

PHYTOREMEDIATION Using the power of nature to clean your soil

4

E

PCB

PCB

Enzymes fragments contaminant and produces new plant fiber

Pb

Pb

Contaminant taken up into plant tissue

in nt a e

nt fib

PHYTO EX A TI P ants take up contam nants - most y meta s, meta o ds and rad onuc e ds- w th the r roots and accumu ate them n arge quant t es w th n the r stems and eaves. These p ants have to be harvested and d sposed as spec a waste.

PHYTO E ADA ON P ants take up and break down contam nants through the re ease of enzymes and metabo c processes such as photosynthet c ox dat on/reduct on. In th s process organ c po utants are degraded and ncorporated nto the p ant or broken down n the so .

PHYTOVOLA L ZA ON Some p ants take up vo at e contam nants and re ease them nto the atmosphere through transp rat on. The contam nant s transfor-med or degraded w th n the p ant to create a ess tox c substance before and then re eased nto the a r.

5

1. COLLECT A SOIL SAMPLEGather soil samples by taking them from at least 4 different areas per every 400 sq ft of space. Samples should come from approx. 6 inches below the surface and should not contain any gravel, grass, trash...etc. You can mix the samples to form a composite sample of your entire lot.

2. SEND IT TO A LABBrooklyn College and Cornell University provide inexpensive soil testing services (approx. $30 for heavy metal tests -see resour-ces on page 8/9). Fill a ziplock bag with your soil and send it to their lab together with information about your site. You will get a report in about 2 weeks.

3. CREATE A REMEDIATION STRATEGYFrom the test results, determine, if and how to remediate con-taminants. Utilize the table on page 8/9 to decide on the plants that would best help you to clean up your lot nad make a plan how many you need.

4. START PLANTINGMost of the seeds you will need, are sold online. Sow and germinate them in a small container and water them regularly. Transplant them to your site, when they are about 3“ high and after the last spring frost. Manage them as garden plants and watch them grow.

1. FEBRUARY 2. FEBRUARY 3. MARCH 4. APRIL

DO TYOURSELF Eight simple steps to clean up your vacant lot

6

5. HARVEST AND RE-PLANTAfter about 14 weeks, your plants are saturated with heavy metals, PCB or other toxins. You can harvest the entire plants including the roots, stems and leaves and repeat this growing cycle as often as climate permits.

6. DISPOSE AS HAZARDOUS WASTESome of the plants, are hyperaccumulators. They store the toxins within their plant tissue and are now toxic themselves. Check for the location of the Special Waste Drop-Off site in your borough and dispose them as hazardous waste. Keep them away from children and animals.

7. RE-TEST YOUR SOILAt the end of the growing season, re-test the soil to understand the improvements. You can also test the plant material, if you are curious about the change. Depending on the level of conta-mination, you may have to repeat this planting process over 2-3 years.

8. GET A GREEN PROPERTY CERTIFICATIONfrom the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation which is overseeing the city’s brownfield clean-up program. This certificate will signify that a property was investigated, cleaned up and is protective of both public health and the environment. In order to qualify, you can sign up for the NYC Brownfield Clea-nup Program.

5. MAY - NOVEMBER 6. NOVEMBER 7. DECEMBER 8. JANUARY

REPEAT TH S CYCLE NEXT YEAR F NECESSARY

7

PbCr

Hg

MTBE

DDTPCP

PCBTCE

Arsenic 16ppm 16ppm 13ppm

Mercury 0.81ppm 0.81ppm 0.18ppm

Chromium 180ppm 36ppm 30ppm

Lead 400ppm 400ppm 63ppm

1ppm 1ppm 0.1ppm

21ppm 10ppm 0.47ppm

100ppm 62ppm 0.93ppm

6.7ppm 2.4ppm 0.8ppm

7.9ppm 1.7ppm 0.0033ppm

Y O S AB L Z

HYTO EXT AC

HY O AB Z

Y O DEG AD

Y O DEG AD

MAXIMUM LEVELS OF CONTAMINANT FOR:

CONTAMINANT

As

Po ych o-r nated b pheny s

Tr ch oro-eth ene

Methy tert ary buty ether

Pentach oro-pheno

D ch oro-pheny tr -ch oroethane

Farming Animals.. ..Growing Food

Single Family Houses..Gardening..Playground

Multi Family Housing.. ..Recreation..Park

Often found n ead-ac d batter es d odes pa nts dyes meta s pharm pest c des herb c des soaps and

Typ ca y used as a fue add t ve n Common n areas that were expose from the gaso ne storage and d st

Co or ess to ght ye ow o y qu ds Accumu ate n f sh and mar ne mam h gher eve s than n sed ments and

8

PERIODICTABLE Common contaminants in urban soil and their natural enemies

Highland Bent Grass Agrostis castellana

Chinese Brake FernPteris vittata L.

ZA ON

T ON

ZA ION

DAT ON

DAT ON

Indian mustardBrassica juncea L.

Rapeseed PlantBrassica napus

WillowSalix

ZuchiniCurcurbita pepo

Paul’s Scarlet RoseRosa

Crested WheatgrassAgropyron cristatum

PumpkinCurcurbita

Alpine PennycressThlaspi caerulescens

Common RagweedBrassica olercea

Giant DuckweedSpirdela polyrhiza

SunflowerHelianthus annuus

Blue Sheep FescueFestuca ovina

Seapink ThriftArmeria maritima

PinePinus

White rot fungusPhanerochaete chrysosporium

Common WheatTriticum estivum

TYPICAL PLANTS

Eastern cottonwoods Populus deltoides

ght-em tt ng maceut ca s

sem conductors

gaso ne ed to eakage

r but on systems

s or waxy so ds mma s at much

d water

9

SOURCES 1. US Environmental Protection Agency. „Re Contaminant Focus.“ Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information. US EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, Washington, DC, 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 2. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. „Re 375-6-8 Soil Cleanup Objective Tables.“ Subpart 375-6 Remedial Program Soil Cleanup Objectives. NYS DEC, Albany, NY, 14 Dec. 2006. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 3. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. „Re Hyperaccumulators Table - 1 and 3.“ Redirected from, Phytoremediation, Hyperaccumulators. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. San Francisco, CA, 14 Apr. 2010. Web 22 Apr. 2010. 4. U.S. EPA. 1996. Soil Screening Guidance User‘s Guide. Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, Washington, DC. EPA/540/R95/128. 5. Schippers, R.R. & Mnzava, N.A. Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. [Internet] Record from Protabase. van der Vossen, H.A.M. & Mkamilo, G.S. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 6. Duke, James A. Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished. Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Purdue University, 1983. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 7. Shayler, Hannah, Murray McBride and Ellen Harrison. „Re Guide to Soil Testing and Interpreting Results.“ Cornell Waste Management Institute. Department of Crop & Soil Sciences, Ithaca, NY, 15 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 8. Environmental Science Analytical Center. Soil Testing Brochure. Department of Geology, Brooklyn College, Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 9. Washington State Department of Ecology. Dirt Alert - Soil Sampling Guidance for Owners, Operators and Employees of Small Properties Where Children Play. Publication #06-09-099. Olympia, WA, Sep. 1999. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. 10. New York City Department of City Planning (Land use sumary, 2007) 11. Michael A. Pagano and Ann O’M. Bowman Vacant Land in Cities, Brookings Institute Report, 2001

this field guide was produced by youarethecity