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EVALUATION OF AN ACIDIC WASTE SITE CLEANUP EFFORT John T. Novak, Professor William R. Knocke, Associate Professor Mark S. Morris, Graduate Student Gregory L. Goodman, Graduate Student Department of Civil Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Tedd Jett, Pollution Control Engineer Virginia State Water Control Board Bridgewater, Virginia 22812 INTRODUCTION Waste ferrous sulfate (copperas) generated as a by-product of titanium oxide production has caused major water quality problems in several U.S. locations. This material, when contacted with water, produces an acidic stream that can have devastating environmental effects. This paper presents the results of a study of one such site in Virginia. In Piney River, Virginia, a presently non-operational titanium processing plant has created water quality problems as a result of acidity entering the Piney River. Recent specific incidences involving large-scale fish kills were reported in 1977 and 1979. In 1980, a reclamation effort was undertaken to eliminate fish kills in the Piney River. The major copperas storage pile was moved to a burial pit on the site, and the storage pile area was restored by adding lime-amended sewage sludge and seeding. Several waste storage lagoons were also drained, and the acidic deposits contained in these were also buried in the pit. In 1981, another major fish kill occurred in the Piney River. In response to this fish kill, the Virginia Attorney General's Office filed suit against past and present owners of the site. The site also became eligible for reclamation under the EPA's Superfund program. In the summer of 1983, a team of investigators from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University began an assessment of the site. This paper outlines the results of this study and discusses the implications of the findings. THE SITE The town of Piney River is located as shown in Figure 1 on the Piney River in Nelson County, Virginia. The Piney River has an average discharge of 93.6 ftVsec and flows into the Tye River which has an average discharge of 154 ftVsec immediately above its confluence with the Piney River. A portion of the titanium processing plant site is shown in Figure 2. Acidic discharges were thought to occur from three areas. These, shown in Figure 2, are: 1) the copperas burial pit; 2) the old sedimentation pond; and 3) the drainage pond. Of these areas, the copperas burial pit covering an area of approximately 4 acres was obviously leaking acidic materials. Leachate streams emerged from several locations around the pit and were evidenced by dead grass and salt deposits. Where the leachate streams reached the surrounding woods, tree death was obvious. The pH of the leachate was typically near 2.0. The old sedimentation ponds contained titanium process wastes, primarily acidified ore. The ponds covered approximately 6 acres and were grey in color and erosion channels showing material layering indicated that the materials were batch deposited as a slurry. The depth of deposits varied from two to about 12 feet. Plant growth on this site was noticeably absent. The drainage pond collected sediment resulting from runoff from the old copperas storage area III
Object Description
Purdue Identification Number | ETRIWC198512 |
Title | Evaluation of an acidic waste site clean up effort |
Author |
Novak, John T. Knocke, William R. Morris, Mark S. Goodman, Gregory L. Jett, Tedd |
Date of Original | 1985 |
Conference Title | Proceedings of the 40th Industrial Waste Conference |
Conference Front Matter (copy and paste) | http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/u?/engext,36131 |
Extent of Original | p. 111-120 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Date Digitized | 2009-07-14 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
Description
Title | page 111 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Transcript | EVALUATION OF AN ACIDIC WASTE SITE CLEANUP EFFORT John T. Novak, Professor William R. Knocke, Associate Professor Mark S. Morris, Graduate Student Gregory L. Goodman, Graduate Student Department of Civil Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Tedd Jett, Pollution Control Engineer Virginia State Water Control Board Bridgewater, Virginia 22812 INTRODUCTION Waste ferrous sulfate (copperas) generated as a by-product of titanium oxide production has caused major water quality problems in several U.S. locations. This material, when contacted with water, produces an acidic stream that can have devastating environmental effects. This paper presents the results of a study of one such site in Virginia. In Piney River, Virginia, a presently non-operational titanium processing plant has created water quality problems as a result of acidity entering the Piney River. Recent specific incidences involving large-scale fish kills were reported in 1977 and 1979. In 1980, a reclamation effort was undertaken to eliminate fish kills in the Piney River. The major copperas storage pile was moved to a burial pit on the site, and the storage pile area was restored by adding lime-amended sewage sludge and seeding. Several waste storage lagoons were also drained, and the acidic deposits contained in these were also buried in the pit. In 1981, another major fish kill occurred in the Piney River. In response to this fish kill, the Virginia Attorney General's Office filed suit against past and present owners of the site. The site also became eligible for reclamation under the EPA's Superfund program. In the summer of 1983, a team of investigators from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University began an assessment of the site. This paper outlines the results of this study and discusses the implications of the findings. THE SITE The town of Piney River is located as shown in Figure 1 on the Piney River in Nelson County, Virginia. The Piney River has an average discharge of 93.6 ftVsec and flows into the Tye River which has an average discharge of 154 ftVsec immediately above its confluence with the Piney River. A portion of the titanium processing plant site is shown in Figure 2. Acidic discharges were thought to occur from three areas. These, shown in Figure 2, are: 1) the copperas burial pit; 2) the old sedimentation pond; and 3) the drainage pond. Of these areas, the copperas burial pit covering an area of approximately 4 acres was obviously leaking acidic materials. Leachate streams emerged from several locations around the pit and were evidenced by dead grass and salt deposits. Where the leachate streams reached the surrounding woods, tree death was obvious. The pH of the leachate was typically near 2.0. The old sedimentation ponds contained titanium process wastes, primarily acidified ore. The ponds covered approximately 6 acres and were grey in color and erosion channels showing material layering indicated that the materials were batch deposited as a slurry. The depth of deposits varied from two to about 12 feet. Plant growth on this site was noticeably absent. The drainage pond collected sediment resulting from runoff from the old copperas storage area III |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
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