Solvay Wastebeds 9-15
Wastebeds 9-15 are shaded in blue - courtesy of Honeywell
Description
This site includes seven old solidified lagoons that are located on both sides of Nine Mile Creek, which is a major tributary of Onondaga Lake. The lagoons, which cover __ acres, were used from 1944 to 1986 for wastes generated by the Allied Signal company. Most of the waste in these mounded lagoons consists of calcium carbonate and chlorides which were generated during the manufacture of soda ash using the "Solvay Process" and are non-hazardous. In addition to the calcium carbonate and chlorides, wastes from the Bridge Street Chlor-alkali plant and chlorinated benzene from the Willis Avenue plant were disposed here. These additional wastes consisted of mercury, asbestos, lead, wash water, and wastes generated at the chlorinated benzene plant. Other wastes that were disposed in the lagoons included fly ash and bottom ash from the manufacturing plants, sewage sludge from the Onondaga County wastewater treatment plant, brewery sludge from the Anheuser Bush brewery in Baldwinsville and brine purification mud from the Allied plant.
Most of the surface of the Wastebeds is covered with a variety of vegetation, including grasses, brush, and trees. Honeywell and SUNY-ESF are collaborating on a project exploring the feasibility of growing willow trees on the site (see www.esf.edu/communications/news/2007/02.01.shrubs.htm).
In addition, Wastebed #13 is planned to be used as a permanent repository for contaminated sediments to be dredged from Onondaga Lake.
Environmental Issues
Site-related contaminants include:
- high salinity (from salts NaCl and CaCl2)
- high alkalinity (from calcium carbonate)
- mercury
- chlorinated benzenes (including hexachlorobenzene)
- lead
- asbestos
Groundwater under the wastebeds is highly saline due to the leaching of salts from the Solvay waste. The groundwater beneath the site is also contaminated with volatile organic compounds. Other contaminants have been detected in the underlying groundwater, and in seeps which discharge from the edges of the Wastebeds. Hexachlorobenzene and chlorinated dioxins and furans found in the surface water and sediments of Ninemile Creek are likely related to historical releases from Wastebeds 9 to 15. Since public access to the Wastebeds is limited, it is likely that that the site poses minimal threat to human health. Although hazardous waste disposal has been documented, the analytical data indicates that the site does not pose a significant environmental threat.
- The environmental threats posed by this site are primarily to wildlife (e.g. deer, muskrat, birds) which inhabits the site and nearby wetlands and waterways. Fish in the adjacent Ninemile Creek are contaminated with mercury, PCBs, dioxins, and other contaminants. Much of this contamination is due to releases from the LCP plant via the West Flume (see Fact Sheet No. _).
What's being done to address the problem?
Contacts for more information and comments
Documents for this site are available for public inspection at:
Atlantic States Legal Foundation Depository Library
658 West Onondaga Street
Syracuse NY 13204-3711
Phone: 315-475-1170
Fax: 315-475-6719
http://www.aslf.org/
Onondaga County Public Library
Central Branch at the Galleries
447 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 435-1800
Hours: M, Th, Fri, Sat, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Tu, W, 9:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7016
Phone: (518) 402-9676
Hours: M - Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Please call for an appointment
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 7
615 Erie Blvd. West
Syracuse, NY 13204-2400
Phone: (315) 426-7400
Hours: M - Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Please call for an appointment