68    CASE HISTORY: USE OF REMOTE SENSING TO
DETERMINE POTENTIAL SITES OF OIL DISPOSAL AT
A MUNICIPAL LANDFILL
Carol D. Rugge, Research Assistant
Dr. R. C. Ahlert, Professor II
Rutgers University
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Piscataway, NJ 08855-0909
INTRODUCTION
Fountain Avenue Landfill (FAL) and adjoining Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill (PAL) are unique
landfills in that each is bounded on three sides by water and on the fourth by a highway and a
residential area. Oil disposal is suspected at both fills. PAL, which opened in 1956, was closed in 1979
due to spontaneous fires. In 1983, PCB-contaminated oil was found to be seeping from PAL into the
surrounding waters. An oil lens up to eight feet thick was later found to be floating on PAL's water
table.1
FAL was in operation from 1962 to 1985. Figure 1 shows Fountain Avenue Landfill as it appeared
in 1985.2 Due to its proximity to PAL and the appearance of oily seeps, FAL may also have received
oil. Since FAL is much larger than PAL— 197 acres, 130 feet maximum elevation compared to PAL's
110 acres, 80 feet elevation —FAL may present a PCB problem of much greater magnitude.' This
paper describes the development of FAL over its forty-year history, the use of remote sensing to
delineate potential oil disposal sites, and past and present surveys of contamination. This information
will be used to guide future remediation efforts.
HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE REGION
FAL is bounded by Jamaica Bay to the south, Old Mill Creek to the east and Hendrix Creek to the
west. PAL, which lies west of FAL, is bounded by Fresh Creek to the west and Hendrix Creek to the
east. Jamaica Bay, a brackish, shallow bay covering 39 square miles, has an estimated 1% exchange
rate with the Atlantic Ocean, and is a sink for contaminants released via discharges of municipal
wastewater treatment plants and landfill leachate.
FAL and PAL overlie the Upper Glacial Aquifer, which rests on a layer of Gardiners clay. The clay
is believed to be impermeable. However, under Jamaica Bay, the thickness of clay is negligible in some
areas and contaminants can be transported to deeper aquifers. Recharge percolating through the fills
moves horizontally towards Jamaica Bay, i.e. radially outward from leachate mounds. However,
some recharge continues downward to the Upper Glacial aquifer, where it can eventually disperse
towards the Bay. The amount of recharge is estimated to be about 0.18 MGD at Pennsylvania
Avenue, with 1% flowing to the Upper Glacial Aquifer, and 0.47 MGD at Fountain Avenue, with
20% moving to the Upper Glacial Aquifer.'
POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION
At Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill, there were 19 recorded deliveries of oil from 1974 to 1979,
reportedly used for dust control. Extensive drilling indicated presence of an estimated 155,000 gallons
of oil floating on the water table, at depths up to eight feet thick. Between six and twelve million
gallons of potentially mobile oil were estimated to reside in soil pores, while an additional one to two
million gallons were considered to be unrecoverable. Chemical analysis of this oil showed the presence
of PCBs, lead and solvents. At Fountain Avenue Landfill, there were 232 oil deliveries over the same
time period. Oily seeps have since been apparent at FAL, but no estimate of an oil lens has been
made.'
45th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, © 1991 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.
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