Transcript Marathon Site

Marathon Site
Marathon Battery
Cold Spring, NY
CERCLA Cleanup
Site Description
Federal Court Actions ‘70s
Project History
1st Dredging Operation
Contaminants of Concern
CERCLA Actions
Total Cd Load to Marsh
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Site Description
On the Hudson River in NY; Two
components:
East Foundry Cove Marsh (EFCM)
Constitution Marsh
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Click for Synoptic Site Map
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Click for Aerial Photo
W. Fish, Portland State University
History: US Army
1952: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Constructed
1953, under Contract with the Army Signal
Corps, Sonotone Corporation operated plant to
produce nickel-cadmium batteries for use in the
Nike missile program
Run under Army ownership 1953-1962; declared
“excess property” in 1962.
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Private Owners
1962: U.S. sold it to Sonotone
Corporation.
1967: Sonotone Corporation became a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Clevite
Corporation
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Marathon
1969, Clevite Corporation Merged with
Gould, Inc.
1969, Gould, Inc. sold the Plant to
Business Fund, Inc.; later changed its
name to Marathon Battery Company
(MBC)
MBC operated the plant until March 1979.
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W. Fish, Portland State University
After the Battery Era
 Plant inactive from 3/79 until 11/80
Battery manufacturing equipment
removed and shipped to an MBC plant in
Waco, Texas
Sold to the current owner, Merchandise
Dynamics, incorporated, for use as a book
storage facility
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Contaminants of Concern
Cadmium: Cd
Toxic to humans, animals and plants
Carcinogenic
Waste stream had large amounts of Cd,
mostly as Cd hydroxide; also caustic
wastes
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Original Wastewater
Treatment System
A lift station and piping for transfer of all
process wastewater into the Cold Spring
sewer: Discharged directly into the
Hudson River
Bypass Valve Was Installed
When the Lift Station Was Shut down or
Overloaded, direct Gravity Discharge
Could Be Made into a Storm Sewer
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Discharges to EFCM
High dissolved solids and pH of the
Effluent Resulted in Extreme Fouling
Within the Pump and Piping
Pumps Required Shut down and
Maintenance
Bypass Valve Was Opened and the Flow
Diverted to EFCM: 2x per week
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W. Fish, Portland State University
Cadmium Load:
Approximately 50,000 kg of
Cadmium May Have Been
Discharged to the Cove During
the Life of the Plant
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New Sewage Plant
1965: New York State Department of
Health said Cold Spring must build seage
treatment plant
Battery Plant effluent could not be
handled, too toxic
Sonotone ordered to disconnect from
sewer
Entire waste flow diverted to storm sewer
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Attempts at Treatment
Sonotone installed treatment equipment
precipitate Cd(OH)2 and neutralize
discharge
Never really worked, Cd kept on flowing
NY found lots of Cd in marsh, river
Plant given Jan 1, 1970 deadline to
comply with state discharge regulation
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70 Civ. 4110
Judgement of Federal Court
Suit brought under Federal Water
Pollution Control Administration against
Marathon
Enforcement then shifted to new EPA
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Relief Sought by US
Permanent injunction against further
discharge of Cd and other metals into
Foundry Cove
Demanded removal of Cd in sediments
Sept. 1971: Complaint amended, named
Sonotone, Clevite and Gould as additional
defendants
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Final Judgment
June 1972: Remove all sediment with Cd
>900 ppm (mg/kg)
1971: Discharge was stopped; routed
back to sewer after treatment
1972-1973: Hydraulic dredging by GOULD
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1st Dredging Operation
Hydraulic dredging of “hot” areas
Spoils dewatered in parking lot inside a
temporary dike
dewatering leaked all over the place
Effluent settle overnight, discharge to
marsh
Solids mixed with limestone, scored in
underground vault on site
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Areas Dredged
Outfall area
Channel leading to the marsh
About 9 hectares = 22 acres
About 4000 cu.m. stored in vault
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“Satisfaction”
April 24, 1974: US Attorney issues
“satisfaction of judgment”
Site is off the hook…or isi it?
Agreement included monitoring by NYS
Dept. of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC)
Studies by NYSDEC, EPA, NYU
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Whoops, There it Is
Studies showed much of area was still >
900 mg/kg
Channel area was recontaminated
Only about 10% of Cd had been removed
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CERCLA
1980: CERCLA Passed
1981: First NPL Prepared
Guess what was one of the first sites
proposed for the interim NPL?
1983 went on Final NPL
Also OSHA found high Cd dust inside book
warehouse
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CERCLA Units
1986 ROD: Three “operating Units”
Area I: EFCM & Constitution Marsh
Area II: Plant, grounds, vault
Area III: Cove itself and Hudson
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RI/FS Findings
~8% of EFCM had >1000 mg/kg Cd
Dust up to 120,000 mg/kg in plant
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ROD Plan: 1986
Dredge EFCM, dewater, haul offsite
Leave Constitution Marsh alone
Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA)
2 other RODS issued ‘88, ‘89
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Final Consent Decrees
Marathon, Gould, USACOE are RPs
Total cost $109 million
Gould $57M
ACOE $43 M
Marathon $9M
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Dredging Began 1993
Dredging removed 55,000 cu. Yd
sediment to depth of 1 ft.
Assumed to get about 95% of Cd this way
Did not shoot for a specific target conc.
Dredging completed in 1994
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Marsh Cleanup
1800’ dike, 6-7 ft high
31,000 cu.yd soil excavated, treated,
shipped of site
reconstructed the marsh
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DELISTING
Declared finished and delisted from NPL,
October 1996
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