Manufactured Soil Screening Test

Technical Note DOER-C6

May 1999

Manufactured Soil Screening Test

PURPOSE: The purpose of this technical note is to provide a screening test that can be used to

evaluate the potential for manufacturing artificial soil using dredged material, cellulose waste

materials (e.g., yard waste compost, sawdust, wastepaper), and biosolids (e.g., N-Viro-reconditioned

sewage sludge, BIONSOIL-reconstituted cow manure). This procedure will allow the most

productive blend of any dredged material (uncontaminated or contaminated), cellulose, and

biosolids to be determined and recommended for use in an environmentally productive and

beneficial manner.

BACKGROUND: Nonpoint and point source soil particles and other materials in runoff find their

way to the bottom of waterways. These soil particles become sediment that eventually needs to be

removed from the waterways to maintain navigation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

is responsible for maintaining the Nation's navigable waterways and annually dredges approxi-

mately 400 million cubic meters of sediment. A small volume of this dredged material contains a

wide range and level of contaminants, such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated

biphenyls, pesticides, and metals. Dredged material that cannot pass stringent open-water disposal

testing criteria requires confined disposal alternatives. Finding disposal sites for dredged material

is becoming difficult, since most confined disposal facilities (CDFs) are at full capacity. Likewise,

sewage sludge can no longer be disposed of in the ocean; consequently, sewage sludge is piling up

on land at many sewage-treatment facilities. Also, large volumes of sewage sludge are currently

placed in landfills; however, landfills are filling at accelerated rates. To resolve the accumulation

and disposal of sewage sludge, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has issued 40

CFR Part 503 regulations (USEPA 1990, 1993). The 503 regulations promote the reuse of biosolids

derived from sewage sludge and established maximum limits for metals in soils amended with

biosolids derived from sewage sludge for agricultural production. These limits were based on

risk-assessment evaluations (USEPA 1989). The manufactured soil technology offers a quick,

simple, low technology and an effective and affordable means of allowing the reuse of dredged

material, provides additional placement capacity for future dredged material by emptying many

existing full CDFs, and recycles waste materials to the benefit of the American people.

INTRODUCTION: The Environmental Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and

Development Center, Waterways Experiment Station (WES), developed the manufactured soil

technology using Cooperative Research and Development Agreements established with commer-

cial companies. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements will enable manufactured

soil technology to be developed and demonstrated at USACE confined disposal sites. Cooperative

Research and Developments Agreements established or pending* are listed below: