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
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