Alkali Lake Chemical Waste Dump

Last updated

Alkali Lake Chemical Waste Dump is a hazardous waste disposal site near the southwest edge of Alkali Lake, a seasonally dry playa in Lake County, Oregon. It is in the Summer Lake watershed. [1] The site has been the focus of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) efforts to remediate a complex mix of toxic chemicals. Problems were initially caused by the dumping of hazardous waste near the lakebed between 1969 and 1971.

Contents

Description

Beginning in February 1969, [2] Chemical Waste Storage and Disposition, a Beaverton company, stored roughly 25,000 55-gallon drums of chemical waste near the shore of the playa with a permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. [3] [4] The drums contained pesticides including 2,4-D and MCPA herbicide residue containing chlorophenols, polymeric chlorophenoxyphenols and dioxins/furans (including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin); metallic chloride waste, and paints and paint solvent. [5] Chemical Waste Storage was contracted for waste disposal by the Chipman division of Rhodia, [2] a Portland herbicide manufacturer, and by Oregon Metallurgical Corporation, a titanium producer. [6] Further shipments were prohibited in 1971, due to improper waste handling practices. [4] The State of Oregon took over the site in 1974, after losing legal actions against Chemical Waste Storage to force their compliance with new hazardous waste laws. [4] First the Circuit Court and then the Court of Appeals determined that the company was financially unable to comply with the new regulations and that the State was to some extent complicit. [4] In 1976, at a cost of $84,000, the state used bulldozers to push, crush and compact the leaking barrels into a dozen shallow, unlined, 400' long trenches, then covered them with soil. [3] [7]

This trench method was the least expensive option presented to the DEQ, and was chosen against scientific advisors' advice and protest. [3] [4] [7] The United States Environmental Protection Agency's regional administrator over the area also opposed the trench remediation. [3] The state released Chemical Waste Storage's owners from any liability in 1976. [3]

According to the DEQ's 2007 factsheet, water testing results had revealed a subsurface plume extending about 2000' to the north-northwest of the dumpsite and covering at least 50 acres (20 ha) has contaminated the shallow groundwater aquifer at the site, but according to the DEQ, it has not expanded since their assessment of the area began in 1991. [4] [8] The area is polluted with dioxins: the soil contains up to 100 parts per trillion, and nearby groundwater is about 0.4 parts per trillion. [4] [8] A 3.9 miles (6.3 km) fence was installed to prevent grazing cattle from entering the area. The endangered Hutton Springs tui chub are only known to live at Hutton Spring, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away. [4] [8] According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, "The DEQ has determined that the contaminated plume is spreading from east to west, away from Hutton Spring and thus does not currently constitute a threat to the water quality in Hutton Spring". [9] Threatened western snowy plovers have also been observed at the lake, feeding on brine shrimp. [3] [8] A low-temperature methanogen extremophile, Methanohalophilus oregonense , was found at the dump site in 1989 by David Boone, an Oregon Graduate Institute scientist. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

The dumpsite is currently surrounded by barbed wire. The trenches were recovered with a soil cap in 1993. [3] [8] The dumpsite is 10.3 acres (4.2 ha) and contains 50 monitoring wells. [3] [8] There are an estimated 800,000 to 1.4 million gallons of toxic waste at the site. Oregon has paid over $2 million for monitoring and to acquire land surrounding the dump. [3] While the state of Oregon allocated a special fund for abandoned waste sites in 1991, it specifically does not cover the Alkali Lake site, which comes from the regular budget for DEQ. [15]

Related Research Articles

Chemical waste waste that is made from harmful chemicals

Chemical waste is a waste that is made from harmful chemicals. Chemical waste may fall under regulations such as COSHH in the United Kingdom, or the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in the United States. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as state and local regulations also regulate chemical use and disposal. Chemical waste may or may not be classed as hazardous waste. A chemical hazardous waste is a solid, liquid, or gaseous material that displays either a “Hazardous Characteristic” or is specifically “listed” by name as a hazardous waste. There are four characteristics chemical wastes may have to be considered as hazardous. These are Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity, and Toxicity. This type of hazardous waste must be categorized as to its identity, constituents, and hazards so that it may be safely handled and managed. Chemical waste is a broad term and encompasses many types of materials. Consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Product Data Sheet or Label for a list of constituents. These sources should state whether this chemical waste is a waste that needs special disposal.

Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and gravel, masonry and concrete, scrap metal, oil, solvents, chemicals, scrap lumber, even vegetable matter from restaurants. Industrial waste may be solid, liquid or gaseous. It may be hazardous or non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste may be toxic, ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or radioactive. Industrial waste may pollute the air, the soil, or nearby water sources, eventually ending up in the sea. Industrial waste is often mixed into municipal waste, making accurate assessments difficult. An estimate for the US goes as high as 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste produced every year. Most countries have enacted legislation to deal with the problem of industrial waste, but strictness and compliance regimes vary. Enforcement is always an issue.

Toxic waste recurring Hazards

Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm. Many of today's household products such as televisions, computers and phones contain toxic chemicals that can pollute the air and contaminate soil and water. Disposing of such waste is a major public health issue.

Times Beach, Missouri Ghost town in Missouri, United States

Times Beach is a ghost town in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of St. Louis and 2 miles (3 km) east of Eureka. Once home to more than two thousand people, the town was completely evacuated early in 1983 due to TCDD—also known as dioxin—contamination. It was the largest civilian exposure to this compound in the history of the US.

Love Canal former neighbourhood

Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, infamous as the location of a 70-acre landfill that became the site of a massive environmental disaster in the 1970s. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals harmed the health of hundreds of residents; the area was cleaned up over the course of 21 years in Superfund operation.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.

Fly ash Residue of coal combustion

Fly ash or flue ash, also known as pulverised fuel ash in the United Kingdom, is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired boilers together with the flue gases. Ash that falls to the bottom of the boiler's combustion chamber (commonly called a firebox) is called bottom ash. In modern coal-fired power plants, fly ash is generally captured by electrostatic precipitators or other particle filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the chimneys. Together with bottom ash removed from the bottom of the boiler, it is known as coal ash. Depending upon the source and composition of the coal being burned, the components of fly ash vary considerably, but all fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2) (both amorphous and crystalline), aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO), the main mineral compounds in coal-bearing rock strata.

Illegal dumping the act of dumping waste illegally

Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping, is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorized method such as kerbside collection or using an authorized rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land, including waste dumped or tipped on a site with no license to accept waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency developed a “profile” of the typical illegal dumper. Characteristics of offenders include, local residents, construction and landscaping contractors, waste removers, scrap yard operators, and automobile and tire repair shops.

Municipal solid waste Type of waste consisting of everyday items discarded by the public

Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'

Soil contamination Pollution of land by human-made chemicals or other alteration

Soil contamination or soil pollution as part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotics (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapours from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting cleanups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, requiring extensive amounts of geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modeling skills, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is responsible for protecting human health and for safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. DEQ is chiefly responsible for the environmental policy of Oklahoma. It is governed by a thirteen member Environmental Quality Board appointed by the Governor, which in turn appoints an Executive Director to administer the Department.

The Killing Ground is a 1979 American documentary film written by Brit Hume. The film portrays environmental and human health effects of toxic waste dump-sites in Niagara Falls, New York and other locations. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Alkali Lake may refer to:

Wade Dump

Wade Dump was a rubber recycling facility and illegal industrial waste storage and disposal facility in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was located at 1 Flower Street on the western bank of the Delaware River just north of the Commodore Barry Bridge. A toxic fire at the site in 1978 burned out of control for several days and resulted in 43 injured firefighters and criminal charges for the owner of the site. The first responders to the fire suffered long term health consequences and higher than normal cancer rates.

Oregon PHL/DEQ Laboratories

The Oregon PHL/DEQ Laboratories are the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) laboratories located in a single building in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. DHS operates the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory (OSPHL), and the DEQ operates their Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division at the site. The laboratories previously were located at Portland State University, moving to the new location near Cornelius Pass Road and the Sunset Highway in northeast Hillsboro in 2007.

Electronic waste in the United States

Electronic waste or e-waste in the United States refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their operable lives, and the United States is beginning to address its waste problems with regulations at a state and federal level. Used electronics are the quickest-growing source of waste and can have serious health impacts. The United States is the world leader in producing the most e-waste, followed closely by China; both countries domestically recycle and export e-waste. Only recently has the United States begun to make an effort to start regulating where e-waste goes and how it is disposed of.

Waste management law

Waste management laws govern the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of all manner of waste, including municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and nuclear waste, among many other types. Waste laws are generally designed to minimize or eliminate the uncontrolled dispersal of waste materials into the environment in a manner that may cause ecological or biological harm, and include laws designed to reduce the generation of waste and promote or mandate waste recycling. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing waste types and mandating transport, treatment, storage, and disposal practices.

The Oregon State Sanitary Authority (OSSA) was the first agency in the U.S. state of Oregon that was charged with protecting the environment. In 1938, Oregon voters, by a three-to-one margin, approved an initiative to regulate water pollution and to create an enforcement agency under the jurisdiction of the Oregon State Board of Health. Political pressure that led to the initiative had begun as early as the 1920s, when the Board of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Izaak Walton League, and others had expressed concerns about water pollution and its threats to human health. Pollution had caused many fish kills on the Willamette River in the 1920s, and Portland, on the lower river, had often closed its part of the Willamette to swimming because of sewage in the water.

The Casmalia Resources Hazardous Waste Landfill was a 252-acre disposal facility located in the hills near Casmalia, California. During its operation, 4.5 billion pounds of hazardous waste from up to 10,000 individuals, businesses and government agencies were dumped on site. The facility was closed in 1989, and is now a listed as a Superfund Site by the Environmental Protection Agency.

References

  1. ↑ "Oregon DEQ Facility Profiler 2.0: Site 6013". Oregon Department of Environmental Quality . 1999-03-31. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  2. 1 2 Proposed Consent Judgment for Portion of Cleanup Costs at Alkali Lake Facility
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Larabee, Mark (2004-12-29). "Toxic wastes at Alkali Lake pose headache for state". The Oregonian.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Schwarz, Bob (May 2007). "Fact Sheet: Alkali Lake Chemical Waste Disposal Site" (PDF). Oregon Department of Environmental Quality . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Site Summary Report - Details for Site ID 291, Alkali Lake Disposal Site, Environmental Cleanup Site Information (ECSI) Database, Oregon DEQ, 2012
  6. ↑ "PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT ON WASTES NEAR LAKEVIEW". The Oregonian: pp. C02. 1993-05-07.
  7. 1 2 Learn, Scott (September 2, 2009). "Oregon's plans for Alkali Lake herbicide dump raise concerns". The Oregonian . Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ernst, Richard; Taku Fuji; Neil Morton (2005-07-26). "Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment Alkali Lake Chemical Waste Disposal Site Lake County, Oregon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Species Fact Sheet: Hutton tui chub". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Oregon Field Office Website. October 30, 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  10. ↑ Hill, Richard L. (1997-12-17). "Bacterium lives in hot environs deep beneath surface of Earth". The Oregonian. pp. D19.
  11. ↑ Hill, Richard L. (2001-06-06). "EXTREME BEINGS". The Oregonian. pp. B01.
  12. ↑ Liu, Yitai; David R. Boone; Chee Choy (April 1990). "Methanohalophilus oregonense sp. nov. a Methylotrophic Methanogen from an Alkaline, Saline Aquifer". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. International Union of Microbiological Societies. 40 (2): 111–116. doi: 10.1099/00207713-40-2-111 .
  13. ↑ Gardner, Fran (1991-06-27). "LOOKING AT GREENHOUSE FROM A MICROSCOPIC VIEW". The Oregonian.
  14. ↑ Hill, Richard L. (1990-03-08). "MICROBE WEARS OREGON LABEL". The Oregonian. pp. E01.
  15. ↑ Larabee, Mark (2004-12-29). "LEGISLATURE'S 1991 FUND EXCLUDES SOUTHERN OREGON SITE". The Oregonian.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.