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Can in situ vitrification seal arsenic/mercury sludges into a delisted glass monolith?
Author(s) -
Jacobson Linda S.,
Mears Connally E.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.3440020204
Subject(s) - vitrification , mercury (programming language) , waste management , arsenic , environmental science , hazardous waste , interim , environmental protection , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , engineering , archaeology , chemistry , metallurgy , materials science , geography , medicine , computer science , andrology , programming language
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency helped select in situ vitrification (ISV) as an interim response action for the National Priority List (NPL) site at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) in Commerce City, Colorado. That decision is being reviewed, pending redesign of the technology by its vendor for what would be the largest ISV project in the United States, involving 220 tons of arsenic, twenty‐six tons of mercury, and low levels of organic compounds. That material was left in three arsenic precipitation basins that were used from 1942 to 1947 to manufacture chemical warfare agents and later backfilled. This article explores the eight principal environmental, technical, and financial factors that EPA's Region VII must address before committing $1,200 per cubic yard, or $14 million, to seal that material in glass.