Air Force Industrial Waste Treatment
and Disposal
LT. COL. FRANCIS A. SANDERS, Chief Operations Division
jional Civil Engine
Cincinnati, Ohio
USAF Regional Civil Engineer Office
ti, Ohi
Approximately 10 years ago the writer became particularly interested in
industrial waste treatment in the Air Force. At that time most ofthe methods
employed on the air force bases to treat industrial wastes were make-shift or
informal. Even then, increased emphasis was already being placed on stream
pollution in the Air Force as well as in civilian communities. Only three
years before that time Congress had passed Public Law 845, Water Pollution
Control Act, which has proved so effective.
Nearly all air force bases generate some industrial wastes. At many
bases the effects on a receiving stream are so small that the wastes do not
warrant treatment. On others the quantities are small enough or the conditions are suited to disposal by simple methods only, such as burying, lagoon -
ing, burning, or diluting. Tnere are a number of bases though which produce
substantial quantities of complex wastes. These wastes result principally from
aircraft and vehicle flight and repair operations. Other wastes result from
testing and research activities. The principal wastes are-. Oil wastes, chromium and other toxic metal wastes, cyanides, acids and alkalis, organic solvents and phenol compounds, rocket propellants, and radioactive wastes.
AIR FORCE ATTITUDE TOWARD WASTE TREATMENT
In the past few years the Air Force has progressed beyond the makeshift
methods to formal, permanent facilities, and has thereby considerably reduced pollution of streams. During these years the military services have
been extremely conscientious to prevent stream pollution. The Air Force
policy is "a continuous study of the control of, and measures necessary to prevent stream pollution, will be affected to conform to programs under state
laws and applicable to state agencies and the public generally for the preservation and improvement of the quality of surface and underground waters. "
In 1951, the writer accomplished a study of the industrial waste needs at
Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, recommended treatment
methods, and designed the modification of a deserted sewage treatment plant
for the treatment of industrial wastes. In the following year many of the recommendations had been placed into effect. This was the first large industrial
waste plant in the Air Force using chemicals to treat the wastes. Approximately 1.5 million gal of emulsified oil wastes have been treated daily since
then by using aluminum sulphate to crack the emulsions and precipitate the
oils.   Cyanides are treated by the alkali-chlorination method.
Facilities were designed to treat chromium plating waste, but before
these facilities were installed, permission was given by the city of San Antonio to accept at their domestic sewage plant, approximately 60,000 gal of
dilute chromic acid daily together with about 4,000,000gal of domestic sewage from Kelly afb. Since that time oil wastes from two other areas on Kelly
arb have been collected and pumped to the industrial waste plant. Modifications are currently underway at the oil treatment facility, and the cyanide
treatment facilities are being enlarged and modified.   The aircraft cylinder
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