Phytoremediation of Explosives from Contaminated Soil by Transgenic Grasses
Abstract
Decades of military activity on live-fire training ranges have resulted in the contamination of land and groundwater by recalcitrant high explosives, in particular, TNT and RDX. While the transformation products of TNT, and TNT itself, are highly toxic, they tend to bind strongly to organic matter and clay in soil and so remain contained at the site of contamination. RDX however, is a major concern due to its high soil mobility. Contamination of RDX on training ranges, and subsequent contamination of groundwater poses a significant threat to drinking water sources. There are currently no cost-effective processes to remediate large areas of contaminated vegetated land on training ranges, or methods to contain the RDX. In previous SERDP-funded studies (ER-1318 and ER-1498), plants were genetically modified through the insertion of two genes, xplA and xplB, to degrade RDX from soils. The objective for this project is to demonstrate and evaluate, through the use of field-scale testing, the ability of XplAB-expressing grasses to contain and degrade RDX from explosives contaminated soil in situ.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 20, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1134973
Entities
People
- Antonio Palazzo
- Liz Rylott
- Long Zhang
- Neil C Bruce
- Ryan Routsong
- Stuart E. Strand
- Timothy Cary
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
- University of Washington
- University of York