Abstract
Copper mining in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the mid-19th century generated millions of tons of mining waste, called stamp sand, which was deposited into various offshoots of Lake Superior. The toxic stamp sand converted the area into barren, fallow land. Without a vegetative cover, stamp sand has been eroding into the lakes, adversely affecting aquatic life. Our objective was to perform a greenhouse study, to grow cold-tolerant oilseed crops camelina (Camelina sativa) and field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) on stamp sand, for the dual purpose of biofuel production and providing a vegetative cover, thereby decreasing erosion. Camelina and field pennycress were grown on stamp sands in columns, using compost to supply nutrients. A greenhouse study in wooden panels was also done to evaluate the effectiveness of camelina in reducing erosion. Results show that camelina significantly reduced erosion and can also be used commercially for generating biodiesel. A 25-fold reduction in Cu content in the surface run-off was observed in the panels with camelina compared to those of the control. Stamp sand-grown camelina seeds contained 20% and 22.7% oil and protein respectively, and their fatty acid composition was similar to previous studies performed on uncontaminated soils.
Highlights
Mining activities during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have led to widespread copper (Cu) contamination of the environment [1,2]
From 1868 to 1968, about 200 million metric tons of stamp sand were deposited into the Torch Lake, which is a part of the Keweenaw waterway, connected by Portage Lake to Lake Superior
High incidences of tumors were reported in Torch Lake fishes, which led to a fish consumption advisory by the Michigan Department of Public Health (MDPH) in 1983 [3,4]
Summary
Mining activities during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have led to widespread copper (Cu) contamination of the environment [1,2]. The USEPA developed a remediation plan for the Torch Lake Superfund site, which included growing a vegetative cap on stamp sand surrounding the Torch Lake to prevent erosion [7]. In order to restore the Torch Lake site, we examined the feasibility of growing cold-tolerant, native oilseed crops, camelina (Camelina sativa), and field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) on stamp sand. To reduce stamp sand erosion and contaminant transport into the Torch Lake. In phase I, a six-month long column experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of plant cover on the fate and geochemical partitioning of Cu. Stamp sand was amended with compost at four different rates, and camelina and field pennycress pants were grown in columns for 6 months. To assess the quality of the oil extracted from the seeds of camelina grown on contaminated stamp sand
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