Ocean Disposal Research Articles

The behavior of fly-ash derived arsenic in seawater

With the rising cost of oil the electric power generating companies are turning to coal as a fuel source. Large amounts of fly ash are produced as a by product of coal combustion. This fly ash must then be disposed of, with the oceans being considered an alternative to land fill disposal. This research investigated the sorptive behavior of the surface-associated arsenic and utilized the results to project arsenic's impact on the water column during the ocean disposal of fly ash. Several acid digests were investigated to determine an effective method of arsenic recovery from fly ash. Of these, the HCl digest was the most effective technique, yielding 100% arsenic recoveries from fly-ash particles. The arsenic content of the fly ashes studied varied from 69 ± 11 μg g −1 to 323 ± 24 μg g −1, reflecting differences in the arsenic content of the source coal. In both seawater and freshwater there is an increase in arsenic desorption with increasing pH. The greatest release of arsenic occurred at pH 12 with generally over 80% of the surface arsenic released. Fly ash in contact with seawater and freshwater can exhibit either acidic or alkaline tendencies depending upon the soluble elemental composition on the surface of the flyash particle. The acidic ashes were shown to leach a greater percentage of arsenic (16.9%) than the more alkaline ashes (8.2%). During these leaching studies in seawater, arsenic was found to leach in both the pentavalent and trivalent oxidation state. The pentavalent state was predominant, comprising 77% of the arsenic initially desorbed. The dissolution in seawater of arsenic was utilized to assess the possible impact of the ocean disposal of fly ash. Based upon these data it appears that the natural levels of arsenic in the water column would not be significantly increased. Further research is needed on the fate of fly-ash particles in marine sediments.

4377509 Packaging for ocean disposal of low-level radioactive waste material

4377509 Packaging for ocean disposal of low-level radioactive waste material

Ocean Disposal in U.S. Coastal Waters, Philadelphia's Experience and U.S. Legislation

A review of Philadelphia's Ocean Disposal Experience and studies and a review of legislation and implementing regulations pertaining to disposal of sludge at sea in the United States was performed. The experiences under the law of two major municipalities that have employed disposal at sea were studied and compared. Major changes are shown to have taken place in the Federal approach to regulating ocean disposal. Ocean dumping regulations are shown to have produced very different current situations for two major municipalities. The City of Philadelphia, operating under rigid federal policies, successfully ended ocean disposal over a year before the statutory deadline by implementing carefully managed, but costly, land-based sludge disposal alternatives. The City of New York, in contrast, still uses the ocean for sludge disposal and has recently won a ruling in Federal District Court which may allow continued ocean disposal for many years beyond the December 31, 1981 end-date proscribed by the law.

The ocean dumping quandary waste disposal in New York bight

The ocean dumping quandary waste disposal in New York bight

4377509 Packaging for ocean disposal of low — level radioactive waste material : Harvey H. Haynes; Robert Rail; assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy

4377509 Packaging for ocean disposal of low — level radioactive waste material : Harvey H. Haynes; Robert Rail; assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy

Licence given for ocean waste disposal

Licence given for ocean waste disposal

Open ocean disposal of materials dredged from a highly industrialized estuary: an evaluation of potential lethal effects.

A study was conducted to determine the potential biological impact of open ocean disposal of sediments dredged from a highly industrialized seaport system. Sediments from potential dredge sites in the Port of Hampton Roads, Virginia were evaluated for acute toxicity. Three sediment fractions were tested through a series of bioassay experiments with the grass shrimpPalaemonetes pugio. Dissolved materials which would be released during disposal operations did not produce significant lethal effects for any of the sites tested. Also, the fine suspended material associated with sediment disposal was not significantly toxic for most of the stations tested. However, rapid lethal effects were observed during the suspended solid phase experiments for a few of the most highly industrialized sites. Exposure of the shrimp to deposited sediment produced moderately low mortalities throughout a ten-day experiment. The results indicate that, in the experiments where significant lethal effects were observed, the toxicity was mainly associated with suspended solids. This trend has significant environmental implications for open ocean disposal operations, since most of the fine materials would probably be dissipated quite rapidly in the dynamic environment of an offshore disposal site.

An examination of metal inputs to the southern Beaufort Sea by disposal of waste barite in drilling fluid

Abstract Barites often contain trace metal impurities. Oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea will require barite as a major component of drilling fluid, most of which will be disposed after drilling. The trace metal impurities Hg, Pb, Zn and Cu have been examined by considering the natural budget and residence time of these elements for the Beaufort Shelf compared to projected scale of barite disposal. The form of metal, its solubility and bioavailability, and dispersion during ocean disposal have also been considered. Measurable effects of trace metals on the water column are not likely to extend much beyond hundreds of meters from the disposal. Elevated metal concentration in sediments will be most noticeable within about 100 m of disposal but detectable to perhaps 1 km depending on currents, sedimentation, and time since disposal. It is unlikely that much of the metal will enter the biosphere, and effects on the biota are more likely to arise from smothering or from other components used to make drilling fluid. Options such as land disposal or extraction of trace metal impurities from barite may not improve the overall environmental aspect of disposal.

Process Integration in Sludge Management

Complex interactions occur between individual sludge treatment processes and other sludge management processes. Sludge treatment processes also interact with wastewater treatment processes. Consideration of those interactions has been facilitated in this work by a computerized optimization scheme using models of process performance and cost based on fundamental design and operational variables. Illustrations of the type of results obtained are described. It is indicated that the mean cell residence time of activated sludge processes and the retention time of anaerobic digesters should, with current energy costs, be as short as possible while assuring satisfactory operation. The additional cost of larger gravity thickeners is often offset by savings in anaerobic digestion and other process costs. The method by which sludge is transported to a point of ultimate disposal has an important effect on identification of the lowest cost technique for sludge management. Based on available cost information, ocean disposal, where feasible, is nearly always cost effective and sludge combustion is not. The cost of energy significantly affects optimal design of sludge treatment processes.

Lethal and sublethal effects of a simulated salt brine effluent on adults and subadults of the shrimps Penaeus setiferus and P. aztecus

Lethal and certain sublethal effects of salt brines on adults and subadults of two species of penaeid shrimps, Penaeus setiferus and P. aztecus, were examined to evaluate the potential impact of ocean disposal of brine from solution mining of salt domes. Brines, prepared from dome salt or synthetic sea salt diluted with Brazos River (Texas, USA) water or deionized water, were mixed with seawater and dalivered from a proportional diluter to shrimp held (usually) at 25°C. For each combination of species, salt, and diluent, 90-individual trials were conducted in the fall and spring. The effects of temperature were evaluated separately. Median lethal time was strongly dose-dependent: Median lethal concentrations at 48 and 96 h were 654±42 (95% confidence interval) and 540±41 mOsm kg-1 above ambient seawater, respectively, well above the worst-case predictions for the brine-disposal area. Salt type, diluent type, season or species did not significantly affect brine lethality. Mortality was higher for both species at 30°C and lower for P. setiferus and higher for P. aztecus below 25°C. Lethal brine doses produced tachycardia after 6 (P. setiferus) or 12 h (P. aztecus) of brine exposure. Opacity of abdominal muscles increased with brine concentration. Lethal brine concentrations evoked hyperactivity after 0.75–1.5 h of exposure, significant failure to orient after 6 h and a reduction in general activity after 12 h. Behavior and osmoregulation suggest higher sensitivities to brines made with dome salt or river water and in shrimp tested during the cool seasons.

Ocean Disposal Legislation in the United States†

A review of legislation and implementing regulations pertaining to disposal of sludge at sea in the United States was performed. The experiences under the law of two major municipalities that have employed diposal at sea were studied and compared. Major changes are shown to have taken place in the Federal approach to regulating ocean disposal. Ocean dumping regulations are shown to have produced very different current situations for two major municipalities. The City of Philadelphia, operating under rigid federal policies, successfully ended ocean disposal over a year before the statutory deadline by implementing carefully managed, but costly, land-based sludge disposal alternatives. The City of New York, in contrast, still uses the ocean for sludge disposal and has recently won a ruling in Federal District Court which may allow continued ocean disposal for many years beyond the December 31, 1981 end-date proscribed by the law. †This paper should be included in Theme 1A - Legislation.

Mission to observe oceans proposed

Most serious of the obstacles to understanding ocean circulation is the ‘absence of any widespread means for observing it,’ according to the recent report of the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX) Science Working Group. To overcome this hurdle, the panel recommends a 5‐year satellite altimetry experiment to measure the ocean's topography. Aim of the experiment would be to yield a global view of ocean dynamics. A better estimate of the geoid—vital to many geophysicists—would result from TOPEX, the group said. A better understanding of ocean circulation would also aid commerce and shipping, fishing, national defense, and weather prediction. In addition, it could help to evaluate ocean disposal of radioactive wastes.

The use of Landsat to monitor Deep Water Dumpsite 106

Since the early 1970's, remote sensing has been used to study ocean dumping at some of the hearshore ocean dump sites off the coast of the United States, but little remote sensing had been done over the deep water ocean disposal sites. This report summarizes what has been learned from the remote sensing of ocean dumping by the Landsat satellites at Deep Water Dumpsite 106. Of the three major types of waste material discharged at Deep Water Dumpsite 106, only the titanium pigment process acid waste has been sighted. From early in 1977 to May 1979, 11 acid dumps were observed by Landsat. All five of the dumps sighted in 1977 occurred within warm core Gulf Stream eddies and the plumes moved clockwise within the eddies. Four of those dumps were seen to be located northeast of the original dump location while the fifth one was sighted south of the original dump location. The six remaining observed dumps, discharged in the absence of an eddy, were seen to be located generally south of the original dumping locations. The average speed of the dump movement was 0.68 kt with a range from 0.17 to 1.17 kts. Plume dispersion showed a tendency toward greater dispersion as the plume got older with the widest plume cross section measured on the order of 2100 m.

The Interactions of Stabilized Scrubber Sludge and Fly Ash with the Marine Environment

Abstract Scrubber filter cake (sludge) and fly ash have been stabilized into blocks. These blocks have been submerged in an estuarine environment on the north shore of Long Island, N.Y. for nearly two years and have maintained their structural integrity. The blocks were colonized by a diverse aquatic community of marine plants and animals. The uptake of trace metals from the coal waste blocks by the marine organisms was not greater than that found on concrete reference blocks placed nearby. The initial colonization of the coal waste blocks proceeded somewhat differently at first when compared to the concrete blocks; however, by the end of the first year of submersion both materials supported an almost identical community. Little or no physical abrasion or erosion was observed but biological erosion by the boring clam Barnea truncata was observed to occur. The results indicate that ocean disposal of stabilized scrubber filter cake and fly ash in block form appears to be compatible with the marine environment.

Problems arise for geopressure natural gas

U.S. geopressure zones, which underlie approx. 140,000 sq mi of coastal Texas and Louisiana, occur at depths greater than 10,000 ft and at sharply varying pressures. Early U.S. Geological Survey estimates put gas reserves from this source at 60,000 trillion cu ft, a 3000 yr supply at the current U.S. consumption rate of 19 trillion cu ft/yr. According to Y. K. Kharaka (Geol. Surv.), one of the major problems involved in development of these geopressure fields is the disposal of the huge amounts of produced water, the salinity of which ranges from 15,000-275,000 mg/l.; another problem with the water is the presence of environmentally toxic substances, e.g., the presence of boron at about 50 mg/l. and ammonia at about 15 mg/l. This makes ocean disposal impossible, and reinjection into shallower strata has never been tried on the large scale necessary and which would require careful choice of the disposal strata. The only geopressure test well so far drilled had to be abandoned when unstable shale around the hole collapsed.

Transport and transportation pathways of hazardous chemicals from solid waste disposal.

To evaluate the impact of hazardous chemicals in solid wastes on man and other organisms, it is necessary to have information about amounts of chemical present, extent of exposure, and chemical toxicity. This paper addresses the question of organism exposure by considering the major physical and biological transport pathways and the physicochemical and biochemical transformations that may occur in sediments, soils, and water. Disposal of solid wastes in both terrestrial and oceanic environments is considered. Atmospheric transport is considered for emissions from incineration of solid wastes and for wind resuspension of particulates from surface waste deposits. Solid wastes deposited in terrestrial environments are subject to leaching by surface and ground waters. Leachates may then be transported to other surface waters and drinking water aquifers through hydrologic transport. Leachates also interact with natural organic matter, clays, and microorganisms in soils and sediments. These interactions may render chemical constituents in leachates more or less mobile, possibly change chemical and physical forms, and alter their biological activity. Oceanic waste disposal practices result in migration through diffusion and ocean currents. Surface area-to-volume ratios play a major role in the initial distributions of chemicals in the aquatic environment. Sediments serve as major sources and sinks of chemical contaminants. Food chain transport in both aquatic and terrestrial environments results in the movement of hazardous chemicals from lower to higher positions in the food web. Bioconcentration is observed in both terrestrial and aquatic food chains with certain elements and synthetic organics. Bioconcentration factors tend to be higher for synthetic organics, and higher in aquatic than in terrestrial systems. Biodilution is not atypical in terrestrial environments. Synergistic and antagonistic actions are common occurrences among chemical contaminants and can be particularly important toxicity considerations in aquatic environments receiving runoff from several terrestrial sources.

Improved ocean measurement capabilities using advanced engineering technology

Ocean measurement systems for the 1980's will require improved capabilities to sample and measure specific ocean parameters. With the increasing costs of ocean operations, these systems must be designed and produced to yield a higher degree of performance and reliability than has been previously available. Also, new capabilities will be required as program emphasis shifts to the continental shelves and margins where the understanding of coastal processes, energy development and production, ocean waste disposal, and improved water quality are of increasing social and economic importance. Some of the requirements for improved marine measurement systems and how they can be achieved are discussed below.

Trace metals in organisms from ocean disposal sites of the middle eastern United States

Concentrations of silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, manganese, lead, and zinc were determined for selected marine fish and shellfish collected at or near three ocean disposal sites, a control site and three inshore areas of the middle eastern United States. The disposal sites were off New Haven, Connecticut; New York City, and Delaware Bay. The control site was at Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia, and other areas were in Long Island Sound (near the New Haven disposal site); Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and a second area off New York City near the Bight apex disposal site.

Trace metals in scallops from within and around two ocean disposal sites

The areal distributions of the concentrations of 13 metals in sea scallop tissues were examined in the vicinity of two ocean disposal sites located off the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. Patterns of metals distribution show that: 1. (1) Five specific metals may be used as identification tags for individual wastes diposed at the two sites, and 2. (2) disposed materials tend to be transported by currents south and southwest from the disposal sites, and 3. (3) biological availability and potential toxicity of metals pose a threat to marine biota.

Status of Ocean Dumping Research in New York Bight

The New York Bight extends seaward from Long Island and New Jersey to the edge of the continental shelf. Wastes from approx 20,000,000 people are discharged to the Bight Apex. These wastes arrive by a variety of routes: Ocean dumping, sewer outfalls, atmospheric fallout, river discharges, land runoff, thermal discharges, vessel wastes, and occasional spills. Biotic aberrations in the Apex are more prevalent than in comparable coastal environments. Locally, ocean disposal of sewage sludge and dredge material can be associated with these impacts. Comparable studies of existing ocean dumping practices, and proposed alternative ocean disposal sites, nearly 65 nautical miles (120 km) out on the continental shelf were completed.