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Final Report: Tar Creek Superfund Site Remediation: Combined Roles for Biomass, Poultry Litter, Fly Ash and Flu Gas Desulfurization Residues

EPA Grant Number: SU831866
Title: Tar Creek Superfund Site Remediation: Combined Roles for Biomass, Poultry Litter, Fly Ash and Flu Gas Desulfurization Residues
Investigators: Potter, William , Grayson, Britney , Hitt, Kristi , Iski, Erin , Moskal, Mark , Roberts, Ken , Settle, Chad , Tapp, Bryan , Williamson, Kenny
Institution: University of Tulsa
EPA Project Officer: Nolt-Helms, Cynthia
Project Period: September 30, 2004 through May 30, 2005
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet (2004)
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development

Description:

Objective:

The Tar Creek Superfund site in Northeastern Oklahoma is a very large area contaminated with over a 100 years of lead and zinc mining. In this proposal we focused on developing surface coverage and remediation methods for the 45 million cubic yards of mine tailings, known as chat. The chat is high in mineral sulfides. Chat piles promote both water and airborne pollution. The dust and runoff have high levels of lead, cadmium and zinc. There is a persistent, slow release of toxic metals into The Grand Lake of the Cherokee's Watershed. This contributes to both health and economic problems for the people who live in this region. This region is poor and is predominantly American Indian.,

Our design promotes cost effective remediation methods to restore the productivity and value of the land. The design is based on using agricultural waste and coal combustion waste. This tends to immobilize toxic metals in situ and to regenerate a productive soil profile. Our design involves mixing municipal biosolids/sludge with the high lignin poultry mulch.

Poultry-production is a significant source of pollution in this area of Northeastern Oklahoma, Northwestern Arkansas and Southwestern Missouri. Most importantly, the movement of litter to the Tar Creek site would remove litter from the adjacent watershed. This adjacent watershed provides the metropolitan area of Tulsa and other surrounding towns with their drinking water. The shift in litter burden should help reduce algal blooms related to excessive phosphates that have been plaguing the region.

The biomass is adjusted and enhanced for in situ metal stabilization using coal combustion products (CCP's). The CCP's are produced locally at the AES Shady Point Power Plant. This plant is one of the new generation clean plants that can use locally produced Oklahoma coal. Even though this coal is high in sulfur, the facility captures the fly ash as a viable gypsum product. It is an important aspect of this project to evaluate the use of this product for soil remediation and to evaluate if this fly ash promotes in situ stabilization of any toxic heavy metals. The project is now being tested on the pilot scale using 55 gallon lysimeters.

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

The combined poultry litter mulch, biosolids, fly ash and chat creates an artificial soil that promotes growth of all species of grasses and vegetables that we have tested. Within the initial water leaching studies, mixed chat and the artificial soil showed less lead, cadmium and zinc metal leaching. There was no evidence of mercury movement and arsenic studies (a potential poultry mulch component) have not been conducted. Longer term studies are required to determine if these beneficial effects will persist after prolonged growth of vegetation and more extensive root mass formation.

Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies:

Phase II would be used to enhance and continue the ongoing lysimeter studies. We intend to initiate a field scale leaching study using a French Drain collection system underneath a chat pile. Our metal analyses are to be further developed using ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometer). This instrumentation which is being provided by The University will expand our analytical sensitivities, and the EPA funding will be used to expand the lysimeter and field-scale studies.

Supplemental Keywords:

watershed, groundwater, land, soil sediments, risk assessment, ecosystem protection, public policy, environmental chemistry, ASV, ICP-MS, EPA region VI, heavy metals, Tar Creek, poultry, fly ash, coal, , Scientific Discipline, Waste, Remediation, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, biomass, fly ash, flue gas desulferization, Tar Creek Superfund Site, lead, remediation technologies, mining waste, Zinc

Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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