Crozet Arsenic Cleanup
An abandoned three square mile peach orchid in the Crozet, Virginia Township had developed into a residential neighborhood over several years. Due to regulatory concerns sampling and analysis of the soil showed elevated levels of arsenic from pesticides used over the lifetime of the orchid use. EPA issued a Task order to KEMRON to remediate several neighborhood yards in the area. The EPA START contractor sampled over 50 properties identifying contaminated areas to be remediated and EPA would obtain access agreements for each yard if the arsenic levels exceeded 58 ppm. If the resident requested relocation during the remediation KEMRON would relocate the resident to a local hotel during the remediation process. KEMRON excavated a majority of the yards and the soil disposed of at a local Subtitle D landfill. The areas were backfilled with clean soils and new sod installed to give the home owners a completely restored yard after the remediation. KEMRON hand excavated around trees to protect the root zone from damage that could kill the trees. EPA agreed with residents on all original vegetation including trees, shrubs, and flowers as to what was to be removed and replaced or to be left with restrictions on future use of the property. Two of the properties were heavily wooded and it was determined that excavation would do more harm than good to the property. EPA developed a Phytoremediation strategy by planting ferns that would absorb the arsenic from the soil. KEMRON obtained and planted the ferns and installed a solar powered irrigation system to enhance the growth and the arsenic reduction in the soil. KEMRON harvested the ferns in the fall and sampled for disposal criteria and total arsenic to determine proper disposal options. During continuous monitoring, START will resample the soil to see if the areas will be replanted next year with some plots being replanted consecutive years. KEMRON worked on the property under two different contracts with separate task orders issued for each contact.