Section 6:  Monitoring and Upkeep

Monitoring and upkeep of the facilities presents a very large task both in terms of money and time. Due to the nature of phytoremediation and the issue of bioaccumulation in the food chain, maintenance is very important. It becomes necessary to keep the grass, bushes, and trees cut and growing. This prevents any metals for accumulating in the grass shoots or leaves that could possibly be eaten by children and/or animals while also preventing dirt patches, which increase the risk of inhalation of leaded dust,from forming.

If the plants are allowed to grow for too long without being cared for, the increase of contaminants in the roots and shoots will increase the chance the plants dying. Many companies use monitoring equipment that monitors the levels of contaminants that have been accumulated and thus give an accurate estimate as when they need to be cut and removed.

While there is no exact monitoring and upkeep scheme, basic intuition applies. Fertilization of the grass keeps the lawn healthy, growing and prevents weeds and pests, such as grubs. Water is needed on a regular basis to prevent the lawn from drying out and dying which could lead to bare spots. Aerating the lawn is also beneficial. Overall, keeping the plants, trees, and grasses healthy and growing is of utmost concern.

One cannot underestimate the importance of monitoring and upkeep. Monitoring must be done to ensure that remediation is actually being done. The costs can be large, but phytoremediation will not be successful without a good monitoring and upkeep procedure.
 

 

Actitivy	Cost
"Treemediation" program design and implementation	$50,000
Monitoring equipment	Hardware - $10,000
Monitoring equipment	Installation - $10,000
Monitoring equipment	Replacement - $5,000
Five-year monitoring	Travel and Meetings - $50,000
Five-year monitoring	Data collection - $50,000
Five-year monitoring	Annual reports - $25,000
Five-year monitoring	Sample collection and analysis - $50,000