317/319 phytoremediation site monitoring report - 2003 growing season.

In 1999, Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) designed and installed a series of engineered plantings consisting of a vegetative cover system and approximately 800 hybrid poplars and willows rooting at various predetermined depths. The plants were installed using various methods including Applied Natural Science's TreeWell{reg_sign} system. The goal of the installation was to protect downgradient surface and groundwater by hydraulic control of the contaminated plume by intercepting the contaminated groundwater with the tree roots, removing moisture from the upgradient soil area, reducing water infiltration, preventing soil erosion, degrading and/or transpiring the residual volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and removing tritium from the subsoil and groundwater. This report presents the results of the monitoring activities conducted by Argonne's Energy Systems Division (ES) in the growing season of 2003. ES was tasked with the biomonitoring of the plantation to determine contaminant uptake and groundwater contact. VOCs were found in plant tissue both at the French Drain and the Hydraulic Control locations in varying concentrations, and tritium levels in transpirate was found to continue a trend of higher concentrations compared to the background in the ANL-E area