Document RJrV1LwaakYkGjNOg9ORKjQdv

Cleanup of an Oil and Mixed Chemical Spill at Dittmer, Missouri, April-May, 1977 Harry Gilmer U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Kansas City, Missouri and Frank J. Freestone U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Edison, New Jersey INTRODUCTION In response to neighbor complaints of odors. Art and ob noxious amok* and deteriorating creek quality, the Missouri Commotion Commission (MCC) and the Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) made a aeries of investigations of the Albert Harris Proparty located in Dittmer, Jefferson County. These investigations, which began March 24,1977 and continued through April 1, revealed that Mr. Harris was operating an illegal solid waste disposal site in conjunction with container reconditioning operation. The containers were being supplied by the Bliss Drain Ofl Company of St. Louis, Missouri and Ssugst, OUnois. Upon dtttvaiy of tha containers to Mr. Harris, the contents would ba amptiad into a pit adjacent to an mtermittert branch of Calvey Creek, a tributary of the Meiamec River; the empty containers were than reconditioned for sals. At one point, the pit was set afire to lower the level of the con* tents; a neighbor requested the Fire Department to extinguhh the fire that threatened to engulf the area with smoke and flame. Because of die seriousness of the situation, the MDNR appealed to die Ui. EPA Region VII Emergency Response Section (EMER) on April 4 for assistance. Tha telephoned report indicated that immediate action was needed. There for*, tha Toxic Substances Coordinator and a representative ftom the Waste Management Section visited the Harris site on AprflS. Although a notice of violation had bean loft with tha Harris family on March 2S, directing that the MDNR ba notified prior to removal or destruction of material st the dump, all containers had bean removed, the top layer of sod removed, the pit had been filled in and the area coveted with straw. However, EPA took samples of soil from the middle of the dump, of stream sediment and miscellaneous dead aquatie life below the dump area for later analysis. The area was carefiitty inspected and upon return to EPA Re^onal Hindquarters, the two EPA inspectors reported to EMER that the situation was indeed serious. The stream had many indications of receiving ofl from the dump area. There were puddles of black ofl in the stream adjacent to the pit. Extensive oil films and sheens were visible on the stream below the dump site; there was no Indication of ofl shaen upstream. An objectionable, but unidentifiable, odor was encountered in the stream gully Stream sediment when disturbed, released globules of ofly materials. The stream appeared devoid of aquatic life end many dead organisms were present in the relatively stifl pools of the stream. Actions Taken As a result of the report by the Solid Waste and Toxic Substances investigators, a meeting of the Regional Re sponse Team (RRT) was called. Alter presentation of the investigation evidence by EPA and stats representatives, a rite visit by RRT members, and tha determination of a lack of cooperation by the property owner involved, a Federal Cleanup Action was initiated. Access to the property where the pit was located required a Much warrant. A team was assembled and prepared to serve the warrant and initi ate cleanup on Saturday, April 9 at 10:00 AM. At approximately 6:30 AM, April 9, tha MDNR-St. Louis Regional Office received an urgent telephone call from a neighbor of Mr. Harris' describing extenrive prepara tion for dirt removal. Upon receiving this information tha search team proceeded Immediately to tha Harris property. The warrant was served and the man directing Mcovenip" of the pit was instructed to cease his activity and withdraw his equipment. A spill cleanup contractor was then authorised to dig an exploratory trench tai the vicinity of tha dfapond pit using a backhot. Although tha area had been freshly covered with dirt and straw, there was visual evidence that ofl had entered the creek bed. The three exploratory trendies that were dug yielded overwhelmiiig evidence of the disposal pit's existence and that entry of ofl into tha creek had occurred. The intermittent stream was Inspected from its sources at a pond above the Harris property to its confluence with Calvey Cnek. The effects of an ofl spill were still evident in the unnamed stream for a length of approximately 2000 ft. below the Harris property. There were numerous springs, particularly on tha pit aid# of the atraam, feeding tha stream. All aquatic life appeared to be dead and various organisms were decaying. Throughout the length of the stream unpleasant **chemicaiModors persisted diminishing In intensity near Calvey Creek. The soil In the pit was contaminated with a complex mixture of many materials. An oily substance that appeared to be petroleum oil was evident In the pit, (lotting in the MQNS 003232 132 Dittmer, Missouri r stream tnd retained by debris end sediment in the stream. A Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB), Arodor 1260, was identified at a concentration of 2% by weight In the mix* ture of oil and solvents (see Figure 1). Further, a unique compound, Bromophenyichlorophenylether (BPCPE) was isolated at a concentration of 6.6% by weight in the oil. In formation gathered over the course of the spill showing the extent of contamination involved Is presented In Table (. The BPCPE wae subsequently identified as being manu factured only once by Monsanto in a small quantity and disposed of in the Harris pit. This material formed a posi tive "tracer" to link downstream environmental impacts la the weatoa lath* plU unnamed stream tributary to the Meramec River. Table I: Selected Results of Chemical Analyses of Various Solis, Sediments, Water and Biota_______ _________________ AM.nW CrailMlimntn inta Coil SiL'l Afgcjpr.|i0 KFff* 01l in aneh 4/11/77 n (wc H.4Z (wO fjrtlivnrr.* 4 tad- 4/(>/77 pnl<r* tn acriraai J7 ar* Soli t pit Crttk atdlnrfll S.'M at Mm ( nil hvlow pit 4/4/7? i/*/77 4/S/77 1/15/77 1/1S/77 M 51* pp2H ppm 15-70 pfh 114 pfh pmmt pranent prrarnt preannt pranrnt I'Uh Fro* Catvay Cr**h */1*/77 Xriltwi'** (.rmi-VNcH Man 4 GrcM *wnl Inti SimI tr-Mtli Ran* Ratlhnf * Xlniww* Minn-- 1rumphvny It M rephnny li'thcr SI pph 410 pp* 17 pp* 95 pp* 170 pph 190 pph 71 Pp* 190 pp* lb ppb 45 pph 1 ,740 |.Pb ?w> n-b As a result of the exploratory trenching and site survey, several actions were decided upon, including stream by passing, land-fill disposal, on-site treatment and snalyrisof the contaminated stream water, excsvetlon and edminietre. tive support from the U S. Coast Guard Gtdf Strike Team. On Monday, April 11, the work began as personnel and equipment arrived on scene. By Tuesday, April 12,dlapoari arrangement* were made at a chemical landfill operated by Earthline Company at Wilsonville, Illinois. Two dame and a bypass were installed In the stream while arrangements were being made for the disposal of contaminants. The first dam was intended to contain the dean wateT upstream of the pit area and form m Impound ment to feed e bypass system to prevent the dean water from coming in contact with contaminants from (he pit area and in the stream bed. The low flow of the stream (ap proximately IS gpm) permitted the use of t gravity flow bypass fabricated from 6 in. flexible PVC tubhy. Became of thick undergrowth and a very small slope to the strewn, the 2500 ft. bypan had to be laid in the stream bed-which subsequently interfered somewhat with stream cleanup ac tivities. The second dam wae installed to contain water that nirfaeed in the intermittent strewn over the length of the bypass. This lower dam waa conatructed Jnat upstream of the end of the gravity bypass and impounded ami Row (5-10 gpm) of water that had come in contact with the contaminated stream bed. The Mobile Physical-Chemical Treatment System of die Environmental Emergency Response Unit (EERU)' from Edison, New Jersey was used to treat this small contami nated flow (see Figure 2). This system was monitored in its operations by an on-aite analytical chemistry labora tory, also brought from Edison. The EERU treatment system was operated for EPA by Mason & Hanger SUw Mason Co., Inc. The Mobile Spills Laboratory was oper ated by EPA personnel from die Edison, New Jersey spilt research group. Figure 2: The Mobile Physical-Chemcial Treatment System being employed to treat contaminated water from dm small stream. Despite bypassing of a majority of the stream Row, the intermittent nature of the stream, in combination with springs originating in the vicinity of the contaminated pit re* quired that a small flow of contaminated water be treated. The stream water being delivered to the Treatment System had approximately 19 pg/ml PCB (Arocbr 1260). After treatment with the rend filtration and carbon adsorp tion steps, the PCB concentration of the discharged water waa leu than 0.05 to 0.2jig/ml. A spills cleanup contractor, O.H. Materials, Inc., brought M0NS 003233 Dittmer, Missouri 133 mm and equipment to excavate the pit, clean the contend* oated debris fro the ttteam bed and package die contend* nated materials. Excavation was performed with a bulldoser and a backhoe. As excavation proceeded, numerous drums containing paints, solvents and unknown waste ma terials were uncovered. Many of the drums ruptured as they were removed from the pit. Itw contaminated materials (including crushed waste drums) were placed in steel drums (Department of Transportation designation 17H) for trans port to id burial in the landfill site. On April 13, the first truck load of contaminated soil in drums wm dispatched to the landfill. Personnel Involved in (he packaging portion of the cleanup operation wore pro tective suite with breathing and cooling ah flows supplied through aapemte umbilical Unas. Personnel operating the mechanical equipment wore similar protective suits with self-eoatained breathing apparatus, however, without cod* ktg provisions (see Figure 3). sorption column built on a design provided in in EPA re* search publication on field improvised water treatment sys tems.1 The treatment system consists of three flve-micron bag filters and e 100 ft9 gravity flow carbon adsorption col umn built from a 12 ft long by 4 ft ID concrete culvert buried six feet in the ground on a reinforced concrete bese. The culvert was filled to a depth of eight feet with carbon from the EERU. Initial experience indicates that the bag filters must be changed frequently to offset clogging with suspended ma terials, however, the overall treatment effectiveness of the unit is good. Chemical analysis indicates typical PCB con centrations of SS pi/mi influent, 4.6p$/mi after the bag filters and less than 0.2 pgjml In the effluent for an overall treatment effectiveness of 99% removal (see Figure 4). Backfilling of the pit was accomplished using day exca vated from a bank on the Harris Property. The day was firmly packed, then covered with Bentonite, which was then stabilized with another layer of day and then firmly packed. The sealing of the pH area appears to have been effective, since the contaminant level in the stream has con sistently decreased since the activities ceased on May 29. Inf and breathing apparatus excavate the pit and package the contaminated materials in 3 5 gallon drama. The contact personae! also cleaned contaminated de* bris from the 2000 ft. of stream most severely Impacted by the spttl. This debris was placed In drams along with the excavated materials. The pit excavation ukthnataly reached <Hmenrion> of approximately 80 ft. by 60 ft with an aver* age depth of six ft. A total of 4,318 drums of contaminated 108 end debris were removed from the site and landfilled. It wee soon recognised after onset of activities that a total daanup would be Impoartbk, and diet the toil surroundfcg the pit area and in the stream bed would continue to leads contaminants Into the stream water for some time, despite all practice! daanup efforts. Further, the Mobile niyricsKhnmieal Treatment System could not be used Indefinitely. These conditions led to the dedeian to fabri cate and Install a flekMmprovtod carbon treatment system to provide long term treatment to the stream water. A dam was pissed ecrose the stream at a point approximately 2000 ft. downturn! of the pit. This dam formed an Impound* mart suitable for the emplacement of i small float-actuated submersible pump having a capacity approximately equal to the average stream flow (33 gpm). Greater stream flows wM flow over the dam-rince treatment of storm flows was not practical. The Impounded water is to be pumped to a carbon ad Figure 4; Field improviesd filtration and carbon adsorption unit. This system was installed to provide comlaKing pro tection after departure of the principal cleanup crew. Note the small dam with overflow culverts installed. The floatactuated pump which feed* the carbon system is shown in the lower left corner of the photograph. Leeeons Learned The spill was caused by one of the most unforgiveebie of environmental intuits: illegal and indiscriminant dumping of chemical wastes. Mixed waste spills are extremely diffi cult to mitigate and are costly to deal with, particularly in water.4 The Dlttmer experience resulted In costs In excess of 35133)00 to undo the environmental problems of what was basically a soil contamination situation. Experience with the contaminated stream bed pointed out the effectiveness of a bypass arrangement to permit stream bed cleaning and to minimize the flow of contami nated water that must be treated. Hence, smafl carbon treatment systems are needed as well as large ones for re* HONS 003234 U4 Diitmer, Missouri tponst to a variety of spill situations. As a result, the Envi ronmental Emergency Response Team has fabricated a IS gpm sand filter and carbon column combination for use whero the large unit is not needed. One limitation of the relatively small mobile analytical laboratory was the necessity to choose between PCB and oil analysis. It was not possible, because of cross-contamina tion problems, to provide both analyses. The PCB analysis wsi subsequentlychosen as being both definitive for the PCB and a suitable indicator for olls-since the PCB's were ap parently dissolved in the oils. The field-improvised treatment system was successfully designed, fabricated and made operational within nine days. One of the most difficult problems associated with long term post-apili treatment is not technical, however. The problem is defining willing parties to be responsible for continuing maintenance requirements. The long term sffsctlvenees of the system U a direct function of the reli ability of regularly scheduled maintenance by trained personnel. REFERENCES 1. Freestone, F. J., "Shakedown and Demonstration of RAD Prototype Devices and Techniques at Hazardous Material Spills," Proceedings of the 1976 NatUmd Con ference on Control of Hazardous Material Spots, New Orleans, La., (April 1976), 323-325. 2. Urban, M., and Losehe, R., "Development and Use of a Mobile Chemical Laboratory for Hazardous Martrid Spill Response Activities." These fVoceerHnfs. 3. Huibregtse. K. R., Scholz. R. C., WuflscMgar, R. E, Moser, J. H., Bollinger, E. R., and Hansen, C. A., "Menu* al for the Control of Hazardous Malaria! Sptib, Volume I, Spill Assessment and Water Treatment Techniques," (Environmental Protection Agency Research Publication, in press). 4. Stonebreaker, J,, Freestone, F. J., and Peltier, W. ti, "Cleanup of an Ofl and Mixed Chemicai Waste Spill Kersnersville, N.C., June, 1977," These Proceedings. HONS 003235