Remediation of Pesticide Contaminated Soil by Planting and Compost Addition

Pesticide contaminated material was obtained from an agrichemical retail facility in Illinois. In an effort to improve physical properties and increase microbial activity and plant growth in the contaminated matrix, the material was mixed with uncontaminated soil or with mature yard waste compost to determine the impact of compost compared to soil on plant establishment and growth, development of soil microbial activity, and herbicide inactivation. Plant growth, particularly weed growth, was significantly greater in compost containing mixes than it was in soil mixes. Microbial activity, as measured by dehydrogenase activity, was significantly higher in compost-containing mixes than in soil mixes. The combination of planting and compost addition resulted in significant increases in herbicide inactivation in the contaminated materials. The results strongly suggest that remediation of herbicide contamination at agrichemical retail facilities can be achieved quite rapidly and at moderate cost and also demonstrate that the combination of compost addition and planting can accelerate xenobiotic degradation in contaminated soils.