<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> DEARBORN, Michigan, August 29, 2002 – Ford Motor Company is planting 30,000 flowers, bushes and trees on 1.6 acres near the Ford Rouge Center in the first-of-its-kind program to showcase the foliage's effectiveness in cleansing the soil. In a one year pilot project, 50 to 60 percent of the contaminants were removed from the soil.
In collaboration with Michigan State University, the Ford Rouge project represents one of the world's most ambitious studies of the phytoremediation process that uses plants to remove and detoxify environmental pollutants in the soil.
"If our project proves as successful as we believe it will, this could change the way we traditionally deal with soil damaged by decades of heavy industrial use," said Tim O'Brien, Ford vice president, Real Estate. "This could eliminate the need to haul contaminated soil to a landfill, the traditional course of action, and allow us to renew the soil where it is to a healthy and productive state."
Plantings include cardinal flower, bulrush, monkey flower and cordgrass, all proven to break down polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil studies done by MSU. Trees such as red bud and hickory also will be planted on the site.
The 1.6-acre test plot neighbors the Rouge Steel coke oven facility adjacent to the Ford Rouge Center. Before selling its interest in Rouge Steel in 1989, Ford owned the Rouge Steel land when the complex was built in 1917. Hydrocarbon pollutants accumulated in the soil as a result of coal processing during decades of steel making. Research has focused on causing PAHs in the Rouge soil to biologically degrade and produce harmless materials such as water and carbon dioxide.
“We believe this site will allow a thorough examination of the soil rehabilitation attributes of certain plants and further our studies,” said MSU assistant professor Clayton Rugh.
Ford and MSU established an initial test site for the project in 2000 at the Allen Park Clay Mine Landfill in Allen Park, Mich., where test results show steady progress in ridding the soil of harmful contaminants. Plants were put into three test beds: two with soil collected from the coke oven site and one in clean soil.
"The Ford Rouge Center is the country’s largest industrial brownfield project using this science," O’Brien said. “Although phytoremediation has been used by the U.S. military and some U.S. companies, using it on an automotive brownfield site of this size is unprecedented. Obviously, we at Ford are proud to be part of this exciting work."
Phytoremediation is one of several environmental test pilots and initiatives being conducted as part of the Ford Rouge Center redevelopment. Also being installed on the site are swales and porous paving parking lots to absorb stormwater and reduce runoff to the Rouge River. Ford also plans to install the world's largest living roof on its new assembly plant this fall in an effort to control stormwater runoff, provide insulation and extend the life of the roof.
8/29/02 <hr></blockquote>
In collaboration with Michigan State University, the Ford Rouge project represents one of the world's most ambitious studies of the phytoremediation process that uses plants to remove and detoxify environmental pollutants in the soil.
"If our project proves as successful as we believe it will, this could change the way we traditionally deal with soil damaged by decades of heavy industrial use," said Tim O'Brien, Ford vice president, Real Estate. "This could eliminate the need to haul contaminated soil to a landfill, the traditional course of action, and allow us to renew the soil where it is to a healthy and productive state."
Plantings include cardinal flower, bulrush, monkey flower and cordgrass, all proven to break down polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil studies done by MSU. Trees such as red bud and hickory also will be planted on the site.
The 1.6-acre test plot neighbors the Rouge Steel coke oven facility adjacent to the Ford Rouge Center. Before selling its interest in Rouge Steel in 1989, Ford owned the Rouge Steel land when the complex was built in 1917. Hydrocarbon pollutants accumulated in the soil as a result of coal processing during decades of steel making. Research has focused on causing PAHs in the Rouge soil to biologically degrade and produce harmless materials such as water and carbon dioxide.
“We believe this site will allow a thorough examination of the soil rehabilitation attributes of certain plants and further our studies,” said MSU assistant professor Clayton Rugh.
Ford and MSU established an initial test site for the project in 2000 at the Allen Park Clay Mine Landfill in Allen Park, Mich., where test results show steady progress in ridding the soil of harmful contaminants. Plants were put into three test beds: two with soil collected from the coke oven site and one in clean soil.
"The Ford Rouge Center is the country’s largest industrial brownfield project using this science," O’Brien said. “Although phytoremediation has been used by the U.S. military and some U.S. companies, using it on an automotive brownfield site of this size is unprecedented. Obviously, we at Ford are proud to be part of this exciting work."
Phytoremediation is one of several environmental test pilots and initiatives being conducted as part of the Ford Rouge Center redevelopment. Also being installed on the site are swales and porous paving parking lots to absorb stormwater and reduce runoff to the Rouge River. Ford also plans to install the world's largest living roof on its new assembly plant this fall in an effort to control stormwater runoff, provide insulation and extend the life of the roof.
8/29/02 <hr></blockquote>
