Remediation of Former
Manufactured Gas Plants
and
Other Coal-Tar Sites
ALLEN W. HATHEWAY
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Cover image: Aerial photograph of the derelict Tilghman Street Manufactured Gas Plant, Chester, Pennsylvania. Interpretation
and image courtesy of Kristen Stout, Environmental Research, Inc., Linden, Virginia, on photography commissioned by the U.S.
Geological Survey and executed on Aug. 19, 1975.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Hatheway, Allen W.
Remediation of former manufactured gas plants and other coal-tar sites / author, Allen W. Hatheway.
p. cm.
“A CRC title.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8247-9106-3 (alk. paper)
1. Gas manufacture and works--Environmental aspects. 2. Coal-tar--Environmental aspects. 3.
Hazardous waste site remediation. I. Title.
TD899.G3H38 2010
665.7028’6--dc22
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
2010029540
to
My Parents
Clarence Wilman Hatheway (1906–1978)
Marie Elizabeth Sisto Hatheway (1908–1987)
who raised me to embrace a devotion to learning
to
My Wife
Diane Margaret Rydell Hatheway, BA, MA
who shares my love of and fascination with history
and exploratory travel,
and who devoted much editorial energy to this book
and to
Willard C. Lacy, PhD, PGeol, PE
Professor Emeritus, Geological Engineering
University of Arizona
and
the late Richard L. Sloane, MS, PE
Professor of Civil Engineering
University of Arizona
both who taught always to turn
to the literature first,
then to spade the ground diligently for
first-hand site characterization truths
Contents
Foreword........................................................................................................................................xxix
Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................................xxxi
Author......................................................................................................................................... xxxiii
Introduction...................................................................................................................................xxxv
Part I Background Information
Chapter 1 History of Manufactured Gas and Coal-Tar Activities................................................. 3
Today’s Environmental Concern...................................................................................3
Estimated Number of Former Gas-Manufacturing and Related Sites in the
United States and the British Isles................................................................................ 4
Frequency of Discovery Today.................................................................................... 10
Present-Day Environmental Concerns........................................................................ 12
Origin of Manufactured Gas....................................................................................... 14
Gas Plant Architecture and Layout............................................................................. 17
Locating Former Manufactured Gas Plants................................................................20
Franchises and Other Public Certifications of the Manufactured Gas Industry......... 23
Gas Company Rates to Consumers........................................................................24
Competition and Consolidation.............................................................................. 25
Varieties of Gas Companies and Gas Company Names........................................ 26
Municipal Ownership............................................................................................. 31
Economics of the Manufactured Gas Industry........................................................... 33
Capitalization of a Gasworks.................................................................................. 33
Fighting Electricity.................................................................................................34
Streetlights......................................................................................................... 35
Gaslights............................................................................................................ 35
Residential Hot Water and Cooking....................................................................... 37
Fighting Natural Gas.............................................................................................. 39
Embracing Natural Gas: A Time of Confusion and Its
Environmental Legacy......................................................................................... 41
The New Scenario (1928–1960)........................................................................ 41
Confusion Associated with the New Scenario..................................................44
Environmental Downside of the Substitute Natural Gas (SNG) Scenario........44
Holding Companies.....................................................................................................44
Factors Leading to Formation of Holding Companies........................................... 45
Utility Management Service Costs......................................................................... 45
Holding Company Failures and the Great Depression........................................... 45
Today’s Implications of MGP Ownership by Holding Companies........................46
Early Federal Anti-Trust Actions against Utility Holding Companies..................46
The Large Utilities................................................................................................. 47
Case Example of the Philadelphia Electric Company....................................... 48
vii
viii
Contents
Casualties of War........................................................................................................48
Gasworks in Our Time................................................................................................ 48
Films with Gasworks’ Background........................................................................ 48
Summary..................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 2 Gas Manufacturing Processes (I): Coal Gas and Carburetted
Water Gas (Lowe)...................................................................................................... 55
Introduction................................................................................................................. 55
Modern Environmental Implications of Historic Gas Feedstocks.............................. 56
Coals....................................................................................................................... 57
Peat......................................................................................................................... 58
Lignite and Brown Coal (Lignite [France], Braunkohle [Germany])..................... 58
Traditional Alternative Fuels for Manufactured Gas............................................. 63
Resin (Rosin) and Fatwood................................................................................ 63
Wood.................................................................................................................. 63
Kerosene............................................................................................................64
Naphtha..............................................................................................................64
Benzole.............................................................................................................. 65
Coke...................................................................................................................66
Nontraditional Fuels for Manufacture of Illuminating Gas...................................66
Influences of Price Fluctuations on Gas-Making Feedstocks................................ 67
Development of Gas-Manufacturing Processes..................................................... 67
Historic Attempts to Manufacture Gas from Coal-Gas Tar................................... 68
The Broad Selection of Gas-Manufacturing Processes and Variants.................... 77
Coal Gas (Dry Distillation of Coal)............................................................................ 87
Selection of Gas Coals............................................................................................ 88
Situation about 1850............................................................................................... 91
Situation about 1885............................................................................................... 91
Situation about 1900...............................................................................................92
Situation about 1920............................................................................................... 98
Situation about 1940............................................................................................. 100
Coal Gas.................................................................................................................... 105
Retorts (Ovens)..................................................................................................... 105
Retort Capacity..................................................................................................... 109
Retort House (Gashouse)...................................................................................... 109
Furnaces and Boilers............................................................................................ 113
Modifications to Retort Houses............................................................................ 113
Ascension Pipes, Dips, and the Hydraulic Main.................................................. 113
Linking the Retorts to the Gas Treatment Process and to Generation
of Toxics............................................................................................................114
Tar Wells and Clarification Sumps....................................................................... 117
Alternative Forms of (Improved) Coal-Gas Retorts............................................ 117
Through Retorts at Coal-Gas Plants.................................................................... 117
Processes Employing Gravity as an Assist........................................................... 117
Inclined Coal-Gas Retorts.................................................................................... 118
Vertical Coal-Gas Retorts.................................................................................... 119
Intermittent and Continuous Vertical Coal-Gas Retorts...................................... 119
Coal-Gas Enrichment................................................................................................ 122
Water Gas (Blue Gas = Blue Water Gas = Blast Furnace Gas = Producer Gas).......... 123
Contents
ix
Dealing with the Term “Water Gas”.................................................................... 123
Differentiation of Water Gas from Oil-Enriched Water Gas............................... 123
Carburetted Water Gas (CWG)................................................................................. 124
The Coming of Carburetted Water Gas (Lowe; CWG)........................................ 124
Empirical Generalizations Regarding CWG Systems.......................................... 126
Institutional Resistance to Adoption of CWG for Illumination........................... 126
The Economic “Beauty” of Carburetted Water Gas (CWG)................................ 129
Understanding the Workings of Carburetted Water-Gas (CWG) Generation...... 132
Carburetted Water-Gas (CWG) Sets..................................................................... 132
Generators............................................................................................................ 135
Carburetors........................................................................................................... 135
Superheaters......................................................................................................... 136
Function of the Carburetted Water-Gas (CWG) Seal................................................ 137
The Relief Holder................................................................................................. 140
PG&E’s Resurgent Experiment with Carburetted Water Gas (1925)................... 144
Influences of Price Fluctuations on Gas-Making Feedstocks.............................. 144
Narrative (1918) of the New Municipal Coal-Gas Plant at Bellefontaine, OH...... 147
Summary................................................................................................................... 149
Chapter 3 Gas Manufacturing (II) Secondary Processes: Gas-Manufacturing
Processes Other than Coal Gas and Carburetted Water Gas............................ 151
Premise of the “Second” and “Third” Levels of Gas-Related Processes................. 151
General Phasing of Second and Third Levels of Gas-Manufacturing
Processes.......................................................................................................... 151
Subtle Exceptions to Hatheway’s Concept of Gas-Process Phasing.................... 151
Second-Level Gas-Manufacturing Processes........................................................... 157
Oil-Enriched Water Gas: Lowe’s Competitors and Emulators................................. 157
Remedial Implications.......................................................................................... 166
Water Gas (Blue Gas = Blue Water Gas = Blast Furnace Gas = Producer Gas).......... 166
Blue Gas (Water Gas)........................................................................................... 167
Gas Engines, Producer Gas, and Producer Gas Engines.......................................... 167
Producer Gas Engines.......................................................................................... 167
Early Gas Engines................................................................................................ 167
Industrial Sites Favoring the Use of Gas Producers............................................. 169
Producer (Fuel) Gas and Its Production and Use................................................. 174
Producer Gas Engines.......................................................................................... 174
Producer Gas as an Industrial Fuel...................................................................... 180
Producer Gas Plants as Industrial Fuel Gasworks................................................ 182
Gas Producer Processes............................................................................................ 182
Pressure Producers............................................................................................... 187
Suction Producers................................................................................................. 188
Combinations of Pressure and Suction................................................................. 192
Where to Expect to Encounter Gas Producers..................................................... 193
Producer Gas Residuals and Wastes..................................................................... 199
Fate of Producer-Plant PAH and Gas-Treatment Wastes.....................................200
Remedial Implications for Producer Gas Plants (Gas Producers)........................ 201
Pacific Coast Oil-Gas................................................................................................202
Remedial Implications Associated with Pacific Coast Oil Gas Plants................. 203
Coal Carbonization................................................................................................... 203
x
Contents
By-Product Coke-Oven Plants.................................................................................. 203
Remedial Aspects of By-Product Coke-Oven Plants...........................................208
Other Carbonization Processes of Coal and Organic Feedstocks............................ 213
Summary................................................................................................................... 213
Chapter 4 Third-Level Gas-Related Processes....................................................................... 231
Premise of the “Third-Level” Processes of Gas Manufacturing.............................. 231
Artificial Gas: Manufacturing Processes Producing Lesser Accumulations of
Toxic Residuals and Wastes...................................................................................... 231
Various Patented Gas-Manufacturing Processes...................................................... 231
Early Oil-Gas Systems (Pre-1890)............................................................................ 238
Early Oil-Gas Processes....................................................................................... 241
Remedial Implications of Early Oil-Gas Plants................................................... 242
Substitute Natural Gas (SNG: 1920–1955)............................................................... 242
Historic Perspective: The Role of Edward G. Boyer, Gas Engineer.................... 243
SNG Processes as Sources of Toxic Residuals and Wastes.................................. 243
Contemporary (2010) Concern for Contamination at Derelict SNG
Plant Sites........................................................................................................ 248
Contemporary Case-in-Point: Riverhead, Long Island........................................ 251
Remedial Implications for Derelict SNG Sites..................................................... 251
Gas–Air Mixtures..................................................................................................... 253
Butane–Air (Compressed Gas Service) Gas Plants.............................................. 253
Propane Plants...................................................................................................... 254
Remedial Implications.......................................................................................... 254
Railway Lighting....................................................................................................... 255
Pintsch Oil-Gas Process....................................................................................... 255
Typical Pintsch Plant as a Remediation Target.................................................... 263
On-Board Rail-Car Pintsch Lighting Equipment................................................. 263
Numbers of Pintsch Railway Oil-Gas Plants....................................................... 263
Remedial Implications for Pintsch Railway Gas Plants....................................... 267
Late Twentieth Century High-Technologies for Coal Gasification
(aka Syntheses Plants)............................................................................................... 268
Other Carbonization Processes of Coal and Organic Feedstocks............................ 269
Nonrecovery Coke and Charcoal Ovens (Carbonization)......................................... 273
Synopsis of the Duration and Impact of Beehive Coke Ovens............................ 273
“Standard” American Beehive Non-recovery Block Coke Oven......................... 274
“Belgian” Beehive Non-recovery Block Coke Oven............................................ 275
Planning and Conducting Beehive Oven Site and Waste Characterization......... 277
Using Historic Industrial Archeological Artifacts in Beehive Site
Assessment....................................................................................................... 281
Summary of Remedial Implications for Beehive Coke-Oven Plants................... 281
Artificial Gas: Manufacturing and Related Processes Not Known for
Producing Accumulations of Toxic Residuals and Wastes....................................... 285
Institutional Gas Machines....................................................................................... 286
Illuminating Gas from “Gasolene” and Acetylene................................................... 291
“Gasolene” (Spirit or Vapor) Gases........................................................................... 292
The Coming of Burning Fluid.............................................................................. 292
Gasolene Vapor Gas............................................................................................. 292
Gasolene Gas Machines....................................................................................... 293
Westinghouse Compressed Gasoline Vapor Lighting.......................................... 295
Contents
xi
The American Gas Machine Company................................................................ 296
Remedial Implications of “Gasolene” Gas Plants................................................ 296
Acetylene (C2H2) Gas................................................................................................ 296
Acetylene Small-Town Systems........................................................................... 297
Acetylene Plants at American Military Posts and Installations........................... 299
Acetylene Railway Lighting................................................................................. 299
Remedial Implications for Acetylene Gas-Lighting Plants.................................. 303
Lime-Light................................................................................................................ 303
Remedial Implications for Sites of Limelight Usage............................................ 303
Bottle-Compressed Liquid Manufactured Gas.........................................................304
Blau Gas...............................................................................................................304
Remedial Implications of Blau Gas-Manufacturing Plants................................. 305
Carbon Briquettes for Home and Fuel...................................................................... 305
Conversion of Peat to Low-Carbonization Fuel Briquettes.................................. 305
Remedial Implications of Derelict Fuel Briquette Plant Sites.............................. 305
Peat-Gas Plants.......................................................................................................... 305
Refrigeration as a Derivative of Manufactured Gas.................................................307
Summary...................................................................................................................308
Chapter 5 Gasworks Components (I): Generation through Clarification
(or Pre-Purification)................................................................................................309
Concept of the “Engineered” Gasworks................................................................... 310
The Clarification Processes....................................................................................... 311
Clarification: The Means of Pre-Purification Gas Cleansing................................... 312
Clarification and the Particulate-Removal Train...................................................... 314
Concept of Removal of Particulate Gas Impurities................................................... 317
Concept of Tar Capture............................................................................................. 318
Tar Extractors....................................................................................................... 319
Tar Filters............................................................................................................. 319
Straw-Box Tar Filter for Discharged Gas Liquor Plant Effluent (1905)............... 319
Tar Filter as a Fitting on Large Carburetted Water-Gas Sets (1926).................... 322
Tar Separators....................................................................................................... 322
Tar Filter Boxes for Final Gas-Liquor Predischarge Treatment........................... 332
Lampblack Separators.......................................................................................... 332
Management of Collected Gas Tars and Tar Residuals............................................ 334
Tar Management Options..................................................................................... 334
Discharge of Tar to the Ground....................................................................... 334
Exhausters.................................................................................................................340
The Wash Box........................................................................................................... 342
Remedial Implications..........................................................................................344
Condensation.............................................................................................................344
Remedial Implications Related to the Presence of Manufactured Gas
Condenser Locations............................................................................................ 350
Generalizations about Manufactured Gas Condensers........................................ 353
Remedial Implications of Condenser Use............................................................ 356
Washers..................................................................................................................... 356
Scrubbers................................................................................................................... 358
Scrubbers Designed for Particular Removals....................................................... 359
Light-Oil Scrubbing.............................................................................................360
Rotary Scrubbers..................................................................................................360
xii
Contents
Tower Scrubbers...................................................................................................360
Remedial Implications of Scrubber Utilization.................................................... 366
Washer-Scrubbers...................................................................................................... 368
Scrubber Doubles as Condenser and Wash Box................................................... 368
Combined Use of Condensers, Scrubbers, and Washers........................................... 370
Electrostatic Precipitators......................................................................................... 370
Purification and Storage (Chapter 6)......................................................................... 372
Purifiers................................................................................................................ 372
Gasholders............................................................................................................ 373
Summary................................................................................................................... 373
Chapter 6 Gasworks Components (II): Purification and Storage........................................ 375
Purification................................................................................................................ 375
Today’s Environmental Impacts of Yesteryear’s Purification Activities.............. 375
Contaminants and Contamination Associated with Purification and Spent
Purifier Media....................................................................................................... 377
Gas Impurities Treated by Purification..................................................................... 379
Purification as a Process........................................................................................... 379
Purifier Design.......................................................................................................... 381
Purifiers as Viewed from the Standpoint of Size and Layout.............................. 381
Quantities of Spent Purification Media................................................................ 382
Series Removal of Impurities............................................................................... 382
Sizing of Purifiers................................................................................................. 382
The Basic Purification Process............................................................................. 383
Purifier Trays........................................................................................................ 387
Purification Media..................................................................................................... 389
Selection of Purification Media Based on Performance and Handling................ 391
Coal-Liming as a Pre-Purification Extender of Media Life................................. 392
Lime as a Purifier Medium................................................................................... 392
Crushed Sea Shells............................................................................................... 395
Crushed Lime....................................................................................................... 395
Potential Reuse of Spent Purifier Lime................................................................ 396
Wood Shavings..................................................................................................... 396
“Oxides”............................................................................................................... 396
Iron Oxide (Bog Iron Ore).................................................................................... 397
Iron Strips, Borings, and Filings.......................................................................... 397
Proprietary Brands of Prepared Oxide................................................................. 398
Appearance of Spent Iron Oxide in the Gasworks Dump.................................... 398
A Misnomer.......................................................................................................... 399
Preparation of the Shavings/Metallic Particle “Oxide” Mixture......................... 399
Life of Purifier Media...........................................................................................400
Spent Purifying Media as a Contaminant............................................................403
Purifiers as a Remediation Consideration.................................................................404
Contamination around Purifier Boxes..................................................................405
Fate of Spent Purification Media..........................................................................405
Removal, Collection, and Management of Gas Impurities.......................................405
Hierarchical Steps in the Generation of Gas Plant Wastes: Toxic and Nontoxic.405
Hierarchy of Process Factors...........................................................................406
Hierarchy of Products, Residuals, By-Products, and Wastes..........................407
Cyanide Removal.............................................................................................408
Contents
xiii
Gasholders (Gasometers)........................................................................................... 410
Purpose and Function of Gasholders........................................................................ 412
Gasholder/Gasometer Design.................................................................................... 412
Evolution of the Gasholder................................................................................... 413
Important Design Features (for Remedial Engineering Consideration)............... 417
Gasholder Tanks (Pits and Basins)............................................................................ 425
Pit-Valve Chambers.............................................................................................. 430
Remedial Implications of Gasholder Design Type............................................... 430
Gasholder Types........................................................................................................ 431
Gasholders Classified by Function....................................................................... 432
Commercial Gasworks.................................................................................... 432
Relief Holders.................................................................................................. 432
Storage Holders................................................................................................ 433
Distribution Holders........................................................................................ 433
Off-Plant District (Distribution) Holders......................................................... 433
Institutional...................................................................................................... 433
Small Commercial........................................................................................... 434
Railyards.......................................................................................................... 434
Gasholders Classified by Design Characteristics................................................. 434
Non-Telescoping................................................................................................... 435
Multi-Lift Gasholders........................................................................................... 435
Slab-on-Grade...................................................................................................... 437
Waterless............................................................................................................... 437
High-Pressure Holders; Spherical, Hemispherical and Cylindrical..................... 438
Construction of Gasholders....................................................................................... 439
Representative Gasholder Water-Seal Tanks........................................................ 456
Maintenance of Gasholders.......................................................................................460
Generic Leakage of Gasholder Subsurface Water-Seal Tanks................................. 462
Gasholders Employed for Early Bottled Gas Distribution...................................466
“Sediment” in Gasholder Water-Seal Tanks........................................................ 470
Gasholder Accidents.................................................................................................. 473
Governors.................................................................................................................. 473
Survival of Holders............................................................................................... 473
Remedial Implications of Gasholders....................................................................... 476
A Selection of Gasholder Layout Plots.................................................................480
Distribution of Manufactured Gas............................................................................ 483
Gas Mains and Distribution Systems...................................................................484
Gas Plant Distribution System..............................................................................484
Mains and Distribution Pipes...............................................................................484
Compressors......................................................................................................... 485
Off-Site Gas Storage............................................................................................. 485
Meters................................................................................................................... 485
Summary................................................................................................................... 487
Chapter 7 Historic Sources, Mechanisms, and Choices Responsible for Coal-Tar
Site Contamination.................................................................................................. 489
Organization of This Chapter.................................................................................... 489
Anticipating Residuals and Wastes at Derelict Gas-Plant Sites................................ 489
Discriminating between Coal-Tar Residuals and Petroleum Hydrocarbons........ 490
Nuisance Odors as an Indication of Pollution Release......................................... 491
xiv
Contents
Case of Margaret Bohan (Respondent) vs. the Port Jervis
Gaslight Company........................................................................................... 493
Physical and Chemical Nature of Gasworks Contaminants..................................... 493
Organic Hydrocarbons......................................................................................... 494
Petroleum Hydrocarbons...................................................................................... 496
Hydrocarbons Found in Diesel Fuels (Oils)......................................................... 498
Coal-Tar Hydrocarbons........................................................................................ 499
Coal-Tar Process Residues as Gas-Manufacturing Contaminants............................ 499
Modern Studies of PAH Compounds as Toxic Organic Chemicals..................... 501
Impact of the Appendix VIII List of Priority-Pollutant PAHs............................. 501
Regulatory Use of the Appendix VIII List of Priority Pollutant PAHs Is
Scientifically Flawed............................................................................................ 505
Dealing with the Flaw Produced by RCRA Appendix VIII................................ 505
Nongasification Types of PAHs............................................................................506
Arguments Featuring Anthropogenic (Non-FMGP) PAHs.................................506
Potential Confusion over Obsolete PAH Chemical Compound Names............... 507
Coal Distillation versus Coal Carbonization............................................................ 507
Temperature Effects of Carbonization on Nature of Residuals................................ 510
Particular Coal-Tar Residuals as Gasworks Contaminants....................................... 511
The Light Oils of Coal Tar as Residuals of Gas Manufacturing.......................... 511
Naphthalene as a Manufactured Gas Residual................................................ 511
Light Oils: Monocyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons—BTEX.................................. 520
Light Oils: Duocyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons................................................... 521
Naphthalene..................................................................................................... 521
Capture of Naphthalene at the Drips............................................................... 528
Removal of Naphthalene in the Clarification Train......................................... 528
Naphtha or the Naphtha Cut (a Solvent).......................................................... 529
Toluol............................................................................................................... 531
Middle Oils of Coal Tars; the Phenols, Cresols, and Carbolic Oils..................... 534
Tar Acids: Phenols and Cresols....................................................................... 534
Tar Oils: “Coal Tar” as The Typical Manufactured Gas PAH Mixture............... 535
Tars.................................................................................................................. 535
Heavy Oils: High-Ring PAHs (More Viscous Tars and Creosote Oils).............. 537
Green Oil (Anthracene Oils)........................................................................... 537
Residuals Produced by Carbonization of Lignite................................................. 537
Residuals Typical of the Various Manufactured Gas Processes............................... 537
Residuals Typical of Coal Gas Production........................................................... 537
Gas Liquors......................................................................................................540
Tars of Carburetted Water Gas............................................................................. 545
Naphthalene-Residual Tar...............................................................................546
Carburetted Water Gas Oils............................................................................546
Crude-Oil Tars of Carburetted Water Gas Generation....................................546
Residuals Typical of Oil-Gas Production.............................................................546
Residuals Typical of Producer-Gas Processes...................................................... 548
Historic Gasworks Management Options for Gas-Manufacturing Residuals........... 549
Gas-Yard Accumulation of Tar Residuals............................................................ 551
Collection and Direct Discharge.......................................................................... 551
Management of Tar Residuals.............................................................................. 552
Residuals Separation and Storage........................................................................ 552
Historic Commentary Regarding Gas-Plant Residuals Management.................. 553
Coal Tar as a Gasworks Furnace and Steam Boiler Fuel..................................... 555
Contents
xv
Burning for Disposal of Unwanted Tars............................................................... 557
As Internal Combustion Engine Fuel................................................................... 558
Collection, Storage, and Sales.............................................................................. 558
Direct Sales...................................................................................................... 558
Rail Shipment.................................................................................................. 558
Briquettes.............................................................................................................. 558
Gasworks Process Components as Sources of Site Contamination.......................... 559
Gas Holders.......................................................................................................... 559
Tar Extractors....................................................................................................... 559
Wash Boxes.......................................................................................................... 560
All Other Clarification Devices, along with Purifiers.......................................... 561
Gasworks Fluid and Semifluid Residuals and Wastes as Potential Contaminants... 561
Clarification Effluent Waters................................................................................ 561
Tars and Tar Sludge.............................................................................................. 563
Management of Gasworks Tars............................................................................ 563
Tar-Separation Sludge.......................................................................................... 563
Ammonia......................................................................................................... 565
Light-Oil Still Wastes...................................................................................... 566
Producer Gas-Tar Extraction........................................................................... 566
Gas “Cooler” Water......................................................................................... 566
Tar–Water Emulsion, the Troubling Residual-Turned Toxic Waste..................... 566
Treating Tar–Water Emulsions............................................................................. 569
Modern Remedial Implications of Tar–Water Emulsions.................................... 570
Oil-Gas Plant Tars........................................................................................... 575
Coke-Oven Plant Tars...................................................................................... 576
Gasworks Solid Wastes as Potential Contaminants.................................................. 576
General Remedial Implications of Gas-Manufacturing Solid Residuals
and Wastes............................................................................................................ 577
Coke................................................................................................................. 577
Ash................................................................................................................... 578
Clinker............................................................................................................. 580
Spent Purifier Media (Purifier Box Waste)...................................................... 581
Spent Purifier Lime......................................................................................... 581
Spent Wood Chips and Shavings..................................................................... 582
Spent Iron Oxides and Oxide Mixtures........................................................... 583
Cyanide and Cyanogens.................................................................................. 584
Prussian Blue-Stained Gravel and Cobbles..................................................... 587
Ferrocyanides.................................................................................................. 587
Historic Cyanogen Recovery........................................................................... 588
Regulatory Implications of Gasworks Cyanide and Cyanogens..................... 588
Tar Pitches....................................................................................................... 589
Lampblack....................................................................................................... 590
Trapping Lampblack in Oil Gas Wash-Box Residuals.................................... 590
Breeze.............................................................................................................. 592
Inert Solid Wastes at Gasworks Sites........................................................................ 592
Demolition Waste of Replaced Ceramic Retorts and Brick Benches.................. 593
Inert Plant Trash................................................................................................... 594
Historic Reuse Options for Gasworks Residuals...................................................... 595
On-Plant Use of Gas Tar as Gas-Plant Fuels........................................................ 595
Burning Tar at the Gasworks, as a Fuel............................................................... 597
Gas-Plant Accommodations for Off-Plant Sales of Gas Tars..............................600
xvi
Contents
Gasworks Dumps and Tar Ponds..............................................................................600
Detecting and Verifying Gasworks Dumps.........................................................608
The Reality of Gasworks Dumps.........................................................................609
Case Study of Gasworks Nos. 1 and 2, Ramsgate, Kent, the
United Kingdom............................................................................................. 610
Gasworks Dumping on or into Bodies of Open Water......................................... 612
Plant-Area Contaminated Sediment..................................................................... 613
Tar Ponds as an Historic Residuals Management Option.................................... 614
Tar Ponds as the Ultimate Disposal Site for Tar–Water Emulsions..................... 615
Case of the Adamczak Road Gasworks Dump, Manistee, MI............................. 615
Fate and Transport of Coal-Tar Residuals................................................................. 615
Source Areas and Associated Waste Types for Characterization Planning......... 617
Waste Types..................................................................................................... 617
Fate of Residuals and Wastes at the Plant Site................................................ 617
Fate of Surface Disposal.................................................................................. 617
Evaporation...................................................................................................... 617
Weathering and Degradation........................................................................... 617
Organic Chemical Fingerprint Association with Source Area............................ 617
Historic Knowledge, Legislation, and Litigation over Gas-House Wastes............... 618
By-Product Recovery Operations as Sources of Gasworks Contamination............. 618
Recovery of By-Products...................................................................................... 619
Recovery of Naphthalene as a By-Product Base............................................. 619
Inorganic Compounds.......................................................................................... 621
Sulfur............................................................................................................... 621
Ammonia and Its Recovery............................................................................. 622
Ammonia Still Wastes..................................................................................... 623
Recovery of Ammonium Sulfate.......................................................................... 624
Historic Case of Ammonia Scrubber Waste Pollution at
Schenectady, NY........................................................................................624
Modern Remedial Implications of Gas-Plant Ammonia................................. 627
Solid Wastes That May Mimic Tar Residuals...................................................... 628
Heavy Metals................................................................................................... 628
Predictable Gas-Yard Sources of Site Contamination............................................... 628
Management of Condensation and Purification Residuals................................... 628
Condensers and Other Fine-Particle Removers.................................................... 629
Coal Gasification Condenser Residuals................................................................ 629
Tar Extractors and Separators.............................................................................. 629
Tar Extractors.................................................................................................. 630
Relief Holders as a Crude Form of Tar Separators.............................................. 631
Water Gas-Tar Separators and Their Overflow.................................................... 633
Overflow from Washers and Washer Scrubbers................................................... 633
Tar Wells............................................................................................................... 634
Curious Case of the “Migrating” Tar Well, Springfield, MO.............................. 636
The Function of Tar Wells.................................................................................... 638
Tar Wells as Discharge Points for Residuals........................................................640
Tar Tanks (Surface and Subsurface).....................................................................640
Water-Gas Wash-Box and Carburetted Water-Gas Wash-Box Residuals............640
Purifiers................................................................................................................ 641
Leaks, Spills, Drainages, and Direct Discharges as Sources of Site
Contamination........................................................................................................... 642
Contents
xvii
Drainage of Tar Residuals and Tar Wastes........................................................... 642
Case of Lake Station, a Central Station (aka “Gasworks Park”), Seattle,
WA (1906–1965)................................................................................................... 643
Gasworks Piping Leaks............................................................................................. 643
Fluid Leakage from Subsurface Vessels.............................................................. 643
Corrosion-Based Leakage....................................................................................644
Chemical Corrosion and Pipe Leaks....................................................................646
Corrosion of Aboveground Plate Steel Gasholder Water-Seal Tanks..................646
Electrolytic Corrosion from Stray Trolley-Line Currents.................................... 647
Off-Site Subsurface Leaks....................................................................................648
Various Coal-Tar Operations as Sources of Contamination..................................... 651
Recovery of Coke-Oven By-Products.................................................................. 651
Collection of Coke-Oven Gas.......................................................................... 651
Primary Cooler................................................................................................ 651
By-Products Building...................................................................................... 651
Final Cooler and Benzol Washer..................................................................... 651
Variations in Coke-Oven Design..................................................................... 651
Remediation Implications of By-Product Coke-Oven Sites............................ 652
World War I and the U.S. Government Toluol Plants........................................... 652
Coal-Tar-Consuming By-Product Industries........................................................ 659
Coal-Tar Distilleries............................................................................................. 659
Nature of the Tar By-Product Distillation Industry.............................................. 661
Coal-Tar Paints and Pipe Dips.............................................................................. 662
Coal-Tar Pitch....................................................................................................... 662
Coal Tar as Solvent and Fabric Waterproofing.....................................................664
Coal Tar as a Marine Preservative.......................................................................664
Coal-Tar Residuals as a Fungicide/Pesticide Base...............................................664
Charcoal Kilns and Wood-Distillation Plants......................................................665
Charcoal Kiln Sites.......................................................................................... 665
Wood Distillation Sites.................................................................................... 665
World War I and the U.S. Government Cellulose Acetate Plants........................666
Wood-Tar By-Products......................................................................................... 667
Remedial Implications of Wood-Tar Sites............................................................ 667
Incandescent Mantle Manufacturing Residue (Thorium).................................... 667
The Fine-Chemical Tar Industry Plants...............................................................668
Coal Tar as a Source of Color Dyestuffs..............................................................668
Dye Industry.................................................................................................... 669
Medicinal Tar Compounds................................................................................... 669
Coal-Tar Distilleries as Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites............................. 670
Wood Preservation Facilities as Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites................ 670
Early American Wood Preservation Techniques by Creosote............................. 670
Tar in Wood Preservation..................................................................................... 671
Creosote................................................................................................................ 672
Remedial Implications of Creosote-Based Wood-Treatment Plant Sites............. 680
Coal Tar as a Road Improvement Product............................................................ 680
Gas Tars in Road Construction........................................................................ 680
Historic Road-Tar Developments in Europe......................................................... 683
Historic Road-Tar Developments in America...................................................... 685
Technical Developmental Aspects of Road-Tar Usage......................................... 685
Road Paving and Surface Treatment by Prepared Coal Tar................................. 687
xviii
Contents
The Coal-Tar Specialty Industry Producing Road Tars....................................... 687
Application of Prepared Coal-Tar Road Improvement Products.......................... 689
The Final Outcome: Asphalt vs. Road Tar........................................................... 689
Historic Operational Nuisances and Damages Associated with Manufactured
Gas Plants.................................................................................................................. 689
State of Knowledge Regarding Gas-Manufacturing Residuals during the
Gas-Production Era.............................................................................................. 691
Summary................................................................................................................... 691
Chapter 8 Historic Technical Literature of Manufactured Gas........................................... 695
Introduction............................................................................................................... 695
Dealing with the Literature....................................................................................... 695
Types of Literature Pertaining to Remediation of FMGP Sites........................... 696
What the Literature Reveals of Importance to Remediation............................... 697
Nature and Dissemination of Remediation-Relevant Gas Industry Literature.... 698
Levels of the Technical Literature........................................................................ 698
“Authority” of Literature........................................................................................... 698
“Absolutes” about the Literature.......................................................................... 704
Technical Journals..................................................................................................... 709
Applicable Journals to 1960................................................................................. 709
Effect of Emerging Natural Gas Activity............................................................. 709
Effect of Post-1930 Shortages in Gas-Manufacturing Feedstocks....................... 709
Making Practical Remedial Use of the Literature.................................................... 710
Selected Useful Technical Papers......................................................................... 710
Handbooks and Textbooks................................................................................... 710
Journals of the Manufactured Gas Industry......................................................... 714
Historic Literature in Microform and Internet Digital Archival Format............. 714
Making Use of the American Gas-Light Journal................................................ 715
Related Sanitary Engineering Content of American Journal Papers................... 715
Applicable Governmental Agency Literature...................................................... 715
Other Major Types of Relevant Technical Literature................................................ 716
Historic Congresses and Expositions................................................................... 716
Regional and National Gas Association Proceedings.......................................... 716
Federal and State Engineering Experiment Stations............................................ 718
Regional Engineering Associations..................................................................... 723
Technical Journals of Allied Industrial Fields..................................................... 723
Commercial Journals of Engineering and Applied Science................................ 730
Standard Indices to Engineering and Science Literature..................................... 730
Early Directories of Gas Companies............................................................... 730
Brown’s Directory of North American Gas Companies................................. 731
Gas Record “Pink Directory”.......................................................................... 735
Gas Utility Company Archives................................................................................. 736
Internal Literature and Documents...................................................................... 736
Gas Utility Periodic Operational Reports............................................................ 736
Gas Utility Annual Reports and Employee/Public Relations Magazines............ 736
Gas Utility Operational Documents..................................................................... 738
Annual Reports of Corporate Internal Departments............................................ 741
Annual Reports to Stockholders and to U.S. Government................................... 743
General Manager Annual Reports....................................................................... 743
Plant Financial Records of Income and Expenditures......................................... 743
Contents
xix
Maps of Generation and Distribution Systems..................................................... 743
Maps of Real Property at Individual Stations...................................................... 743
Contour Maps and Boring Logs for Proposed Station Development................... 744
Layout Maps of Individual Gas Plants and District Stations............................... 744
Contract Specifications and Drawings for Plant Components............................. 745
Charts of Corporate History................................................................................. 750
Charts of Corporate Organizational Management............................................... 750
Charts of Corporate Executive Responsibility..................................................... 750
Charts of Properties Owned and Controlled........................................................ 752
Biographic Details of Key Personnel................................................................... 752
Corporate Photographic Archives........................................................................ 752
Stock Certificate Art of Manufactured Gas......................................................... 752
Environmental-Era Corporate Historical Assessments........................................ 756
In-House Conclaves.............................................................................................. 756
Utility Industry Public Information...................................................................... 756
Role of Universities in Gas Industry Education and Technology Exchange........ 756
Public Utility Regulatory Agencies.......................................................................... 756
State Public Utility Regulatory Commissions (PUCs)......................................... 759
Other State Regulatory Agencies......................................................................... 765
City Ordinances (American Franchising)............................................................ 766
Congressional Anti-Trust Hearings and Reports.................................................. 766
Historical Summaries to the Federal Power Commission................................... 767
Corporate Histories and Monographs of the Newcomen Society........................ 767
Commercial Public Utility Finance, Investment Literature................................. 767
Fire Insurance and Detailed Real-Estate Plat Maps............................................. 767
Dealing with Sanborn Maps Today...................................................................... 775
Public Sector Sanborn (and Other Related Map) Coverage................................. 775
Private-Sector Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps...................................................... 776
Plat Maps.............................................................................................................. 777
Bird’s-Eye Views.................................................................................................. 777
Record Keeping.................................................................................................... 777
Reports of Consultants in Manufactured Gas and Coke...................................... 778
Engineering Valuation and Appraisals................................................................. 779
Content of a Typical Historic Consulting Engineering Report............................ 780
Methods of Compilation of Valuation Reports.................................................... 781
Companies, Personalities, Consultants, and Experts........................................... 781
Municipal Boosterism.......................................................................................... 783
Gray Technical Literature.................................................................................... 783
Drawing Deductions from the Gas Literature...................................................... 783
Financial Failures............................................................................................ 783
Explosions and Fires at Gas Plants.................................................................. 784
Ill-Kempt Gas Plants............................................................................................ 784
Historical Photographs......................................................................................... 784
Specialty Libraries................................................................................................ 785
Survival of, and Access to, the Technical Literature........................................... 786
Dealing with Gas Literature Problems................................................................. 786
Newspapers............................................................................................................... 788
Modern Literature..................................................................................................... 788
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency............................................................... 788
U.S. Department of Energy.................................................................................. 790
State Environmental Agencies............................................................................. 790
xx
Contents
Utility Industry..................................................................................................... 790
Contributions from the Gas Side.......................................................................... 790
Agencies of the American Gas Association......................................................... 790
The AGA Technical Library................................................................................. 791
Institute of Gas Technology.................................................................................. 791
Gas Research Institute.......................................................................................... 792
Institute of Gas Technology.................................................................................. 792
Contributions from the Electric Side of the House.............................................. 792
Edison Electric Institute....................................................................................... 792
Electric Power Research Institute......................................................................... 793
United Kingdom................................................................................................... 794
Summary................................................................................................................... 794
Part II The Remediation Process
Chapter 9 Site and Waste Characterization for Coal-Tar Contamination.......................... 797
Expecting and Predicting the Presence of Former Gas Plants.................................. 798
Status of American State Agency FMGP Remediation Activities............................ 801
History of American Activities in Locating and Remediating FMGPs............... 801
Legal Bases under Which Gasworks Are Remediated........................................ 801
Historic Emphases on Gasworks Remediation.................................................... 801
Basis for USEPA Concern for Former Gasworks and Related Coal-Tar Sites.......802
A Word about “Coal-Tar” Sites, as Related to the RCRA Appendix
VIII PAHs......................................................................................................... 802
Historic Flaws in CERCLIS Screening................................................................802
Research Access to CERCLIS FMGP Sites.............................................................. 803
Identification of FMGP Sites via Internet............................................................ 803
Gaining Access to FMGP Site Environmental Records...................................... 803
Proper Importance of NFRAP.................................................................................. 803
Original USEPA Rationale for NFRAP’ing.........................................................804
Fate of NFRAP’d FMGPs....................................................................................804
Other Forms of Terminating Remedial Action.........................................................805
Public Utilities as Responsible Parties......................................................................807
Risk Assessment as Applied to FMGPs....................................................................808
Coal-Tar Impacts on State Transportation Departments...........................................808
State DOT Experience..........................................................................................808
What the Transportation Advisory Agencies Have to Say...................................809
Example Circumstances under Which Certain FMGPs Were First
Discovered........................................................................................................ 809
Importance of Accurate Site and Waste Characterization........................................809
Chronologic Assessment of Coal-Tar Operations.....................................................809
Guide to Competent Historic Assessment............................................................ 812
Areas for Document Discovery............................................................................ 814
Publications, Formal and Informal...................................................................... 815
Analyzing Site Operational Chronology.............................................................. 815
Framework............................................................................................................ 815
Factoring in the Utility Holding Companies........................................................ 815
Contents
xxi
Planning and Conduct of Site and Waste Characterization...................................... 816
Analysis................................................................................................................ 819
Evaluation............................................................................................................. 819
Chemical Characterization of Historic Gas-Manufacturing Wastes........................ 823
Let the Coal Tar Speak for Itself.......................................................................... 823
Dealing with the EPA RCRA Appendix VIII Coal-Tar PAHs............................. 827
Conditions of Expected Coal-Tar Loss................................................................. 827
Conditions of Expected Coal-Tar Recovery......................................................... 827
Source Areas........................................................................................................ 828
Disposal................................................................................................................ 828
Gasholders as Sources of Residuals..................................................................... 830
A Rationale for Analyzing Gasholder Locations................................................. 831
Fate of Gasworks Residuals and Wastes.............................................................. 832
Fate of Surface Disposal....................................................................................... 833
Evaporation........................................................................................................... 833
Weathering and Degradation................................................................................ 834
Migrated Contamination...................................................................................... 834
Detection of Coal-Tar Residuals........................................................................... 834
Phenols as Indicators....................................................................................... 834
Pyrene as an Indicator..................................................................................... 835
Guidelines for Prediction of DNAPL Movement................................................. 836
Seven Intrinsic Geologic Parameters Controlling Migration............................... 837
Porosity............................................................................................................ 839
Permeability (to Coal-Tar Residuals)............................................................... 839
Tortuosity (of Flow Channels)......................................................................... 839
Saturation Percent............................................................................................ 839
Heterogeneity (of Sedimentary Character)...................................................... 839
Entry Pressure (of Infiltrating Groundwater)................................................... 839
Capillary Pressure (of Opposing Capillary Fringe).........................................840
Sum Total of PAH Migration Forces...............................................................840
Gross Estimation of Source-Volume Extent.........................................................840
Utilization of Geologic Factor Assessment.......................................................... 843
Coal-Tar Residuals in Groundwater..................................................................... 843
Historic Events as Disruptors of Gasworks............................................................... 843
Erroneous Dismissal of PAHs at Undetected Coal-Tar Sites.................................... 843
Livingston, Montana Rail Yards.......................................................................... 843
Case of the Former Atlas Powder Works, near Joplin, MO................................. 845
Geologic Complexities in MGP Site Characterization.............................................. 847
Standard of Care in Site Characterization................................................................848
Respecting and Utilizing Site Technical History......................................................848
Essential Format for the Site Characterization Report............................................. 851
Essential Focuses of a Comprehensive Site and Waste Characterization............ 853
Regulatory Consent Orders and Decrees............................................................. 854
Remediation Planning and Selection of Consultant.................................................. 854
Evaluation of Consultants..................................................................................... 855
All Consultants Are Not in Fact Equal................................................................ 857
Priced-Competition Is a Method of Consultant Selection.................................... 857
Breadth of Experience.......................................................................................... 857
Local vs. National Experience............................................................................. 858
FMGP Consultant Selection Process.................................................................... 858
xxii
Contents
Budgeting.............................................................................................................. 858
Contracting........................................................................................................... 859
Managing the Consultant..................................................................................... 859
Integration of Legal Counsel................................................................................ 859
Work Plans............................................................................................................ 859
Gasworks Contamination..........................................................................................860
Gas Plant Source Areas........................................................................................ 861
Gasyard Corrosion as a Source of Leaked Residuals........................................... 861
Waste Disposal Bodies (Dumps).......................................................................... 863
The Gasworks Dump............................................................................................ 863
Box Wastes, in General........................................................................................ 865
Migrated Wastes................................................................................................... 867
Iteration of Incoming Field Data.......................................................................... 867
Use of Laboratory Testing.................................................................................... 867
“Fingerprinting” of Tar Affinity and Likely Origin............................................. 868
Risk Assessment........................................................................................................ 870
Usual Purpose for Making Risk Assessments of FMGPs.................................... 870
ATSDR Participation............................................................................................ 871
Assessment by Responsible Parties...................................................................... 871
Potential Errors in Risk Assessment.................................................................... 871
Errors and Contentious Issues in FMGP Characterization....................................... 872
Site Conceptual Geologic Model.......................................................................... 872
Errors and Erroneous Concepts............................................................................ 873
Erroneous Concepts.............................................................................................. 873
Contentious Issues................................................................................................ 873
Need to Employ Multiple Working Hypotheses................................................... 875
Assumptions......................................................................................................... 875
Issues of Waste Presence...................................................................................... 875
Issues of Fate and Transport................................................................................. 876
Chemically Based Excuses for No-Action........................................................... 876
Issues of Misidentification.................................................................................... 876
Shortfalls in Scope of Work for Remedial Investigations.................................... 877
Legitimate Questions............................................................................................ 877
Gray Issues, Ghosts, Hearsays, and Fables........................................................... 878
Summary................................................................................................................... 879
Chapter 10 Selection and Construction of Remedy: A Commendation to the “RPM”...... 881
Introduction............................................................................................................... 881
Practical Effects of the Voluntary Cleanup Program Movement in America...... 881
Practical Technological Imperatives of Coal-Tar Site Remediation......................... 883
Basic Coal-Tar Site Remediation Steps..................................................................... 886
Documentary History of American Coal-Tar Cleanup............................................. 887
Programmatic FMGP Cleanup in the United States............................................ 887
Historic Role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in
FMGP Cleanup...................................................................................................887
Toxic Gas-Manufacturing Residual and Compounds as a Base Reference in
Remedy Selection...................................................................................................... 894
Conventions for Notation of PAH Contaminant Concentration........................... 894
Coal-Tar Compounds Viewed from the Standpoint of Public Health.................. 894
Dealing with Cyanogens...................................................................................... 899
Contents
xxiii
Reference Information on Popularity of Particular FMGP Remediation
Technologies.............................................................................................................. 899
Typical Remediation Alternatives for Consideration at FMGPs.......................... 899
U.S. EPA Records of Decision for FMGPs.......................................................... 899
Selection of Remedy.................................................................................................. 922
Establishing the Site-Knowledge Basis for Selection of Remedy........................ 922
Broad Influences on Selection of Remedy............................................................ 922
Actual Process of Coal-Tar Cleanup in North America....................................... 923
Examples of Actual North American Cleanup Actions....................................... 923
Post-Remediation Land Use of Central Station FMGP Sites............................... 923
Special Attention to Historic Structures Located over Gasworks Toxics............924
Remedial Technologies Particularly Applicable to FMGP Sites..............................926
Regulatory Classification of Coal-Tar Wastes........................................................... 927
Types of Gasworks Contaminants Subject to Remedial Action............................... 927
Tars in and about the Gasworks...........................................................................928
Dealing with the Multitude of PAH Tar Compounds...........................................928
Basic Questions to Be Answered for Identified Box Waste Disposal
Locations......................................................................................................... 929
Observations Related to Gasworks Cyanogens............................................... 930
Potential Risks Associated with Coal-Tar Residuals................................................ 931
Selection of Action Levels......................................................................................... 931
Developing Remedial Objectives.............................................................................. 935
Presumptive Remedies......................................................................................... 935
Air Emissions....................................................................................................... 935
Sediment............................................................................................................... 937
Sheen.................................................................................................................... 938
Surface Water....................................................................................................... 939
Groundwater......................................................................................................... 939
By Receptor.......................................................................................................... 939
Compounds of Concern............................................................................................. 939
Risk-Associated Chemical Makeup of Coal-Tar Residuals..................................940
Air Emissions as a Remediation Concern............................................................ 941
Potential Subsurface Releases to Groundwater.................................................... 941
Cancer Risk as a Means of Evaluating Specific Coal Tars.................................. 941
Chronic vs. Carcinogenic..................................................................................... 942
Cancer-Based Risk Estimation............................................................................. 942
The Unfortunate Case History of the Taylorville, IL, FMGP.............................. 943
Selection of Remedial Actions.................................................................................. 943
Selection of Cleanup Level................................................................................... 943
Risk-Based Selection of Remedies............................................................................944
RBCA Applied to Leaking Underground Petroleum Tank Sites......................... 945
RBCA as Promoted beyond Leaking Underground Petroleum Tanks................. 947
Misapplication of RBCA to FMGPs and Other Coal-Tar Sites............................ 947
Reality of Coal-Tar Residuals as Related to Presumptive Risk Assumptions...... 947
Rational-Basis Selection of Remedy for FMGPs and Other Coal-Tar Sites............. 947
Addressing FMGP Residuals in Selection of Remedy......................................... 947
Liquid Gas Plant Residuals and Wastes...............................................................948
Origin of Gas Plant Impurities as Today’s Hazardous Waste.............................. 949
Hazardous Residuals and Wastes of Coke Works and Tar Distilleries................ 950
What We Learn from the Historic Gas Industry Literature................................. 950
What We Need for Selection of Remedy.............................................................. 950
xxiv
Contents
Remediation Imperatives for Accurate Site and Waste Characterization............ 951
Avoiding “Junk Science” in Characterizing FMGPs........................................... 951
Selection of Remedy.................................................................................................. 952
Selection of Action Level..................................................................................... 952
In Consideration of Intended Future Land Use.................................................... 953
By Exposure Scenario.......................................................................................... 953
By Risk-Based Corrective Action......................................................................... 953
Remedial Alternative Options for Coal-Tar Sites...................................................... 954
Traditional FMGP Actions................................................................................... 954
No Action......................................................................................................... 954
Institutional Controls....................................................................................... 954
Surface Water Controls.................................................................................... 955
Groundwater Controls..................................................................................... 955
Containment.................................................................................................... 956
Excavation........................................................................................................ 957
Land Burial...................................................................................................... 958
Resource Recovery.......................................................................................... 963
Direct Treatment..............................................................................................964
Thermal Treatment..........................................................................................964
Thermal Treatment.......................................................................................... 965
Modern Chemical Reprocessing of Gas-House Wastes..................................966
Solidification/Stabilization and Land Burial................................................... 967
A Word about Coal Tar as a Contamination-Remediation Target............................ 968
Indirect Treatment of FMGP Residuals and Wastes................................................. 968
Pump and Treat.................................................................................................... 968
Soil Vapor Capture............................................................................................... 968
Bioremediation..................................................................................................... 970
Innovative Technologies............................................................................................ 971
Construction of the Remedy...................................................................................... 971
General North American Status of FMGP Constructed Remedy........................ 971
Remediation Literature in General....................................................................... 971
British FMGP and Coal-Tar Remediation Literature...................................... 972
American FMGP and Coal-Tar Remediation Literature................................. 972
Other Government Entities................................................................................... 973
Utility Industry Groups........................................................................................ 974
Environmental Consultants.................................................................................. 974
Open Literature.................................................................................................... 974
FMGP Remedial Contract Documents..................................................................... 975
Specifications and Drawings................................................................................ 975
Unit-Item Bidding................................................................................................. 975
Lump-Sum Bidding.............................................................................................. 975
Sweat-Equity Remedial Contracts........................................................................ 976
Scheduling............................................................................................................ 976
Contingencies....................................................................................................... 976
Emission Control.................................................................................................. 976
Temporary Structures........................................................................................... 977
Sometimes Contentious Remedial Contract Issues................................................... 977
Site Unknowns...................................................................................................... 978
Indemnification..................................................................................................... 978
Bid-Award Process............................................................................................... 978
Quality Control and Quality Assurance............................................................... 979
Contents
xxv
Oversight of Remedial Construction.................................................................... 979
Regulatory-Agency Interfacing............................................................................ 979
Mediation/Arbitration........................................................................................... 979
Management of Construction Claims................................................................... 979
Summary................................................................................................................... 980
Chapter 11 FMGP Regulatory and Legal Considerations for Remedial Engineers
and Scientists............................................................................................................. 981
Introduction............................................................................................................... 981
Remediation Laws and Their Implementing Regulations......................................... 981
General Parties to Site Remediation..................................................................... 981
Secondary Parties to Site Remediation................................................................ 982
Premise for Understanding Remedial Regulations.............................................. 982
General Magnitude of Gasworks Cleanup under National Law............................... 982
General Number of Gasworks and Coal-Tar Sites in North America.................. 983
Prominent Gasworks Responsible Parties in North America.............................. 983
Gasworks Responsible Parties in the United Kingdom........................................ 983
Remediation Tracks in General................................................................................. 983
General, Predictable Sequence of FMGP Remediation..................................... 1002
Gasworks Remediation in the United States........................................................... 1003
Remediation Influenced by RCRA (1976, as Amended).................................... 1004
Remediation Influenced by CERCLA (SUPERFUND; 1980, as Amended)..... 1004
CERCLA National Priority List (NPL).........................................................1004
Removal Site Evaluations (RSEs).................................................................. 1009
The CERCLIS.................................................................................................1011
Brownfield Sites............................................................................................. 1012
Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs)............................................................ 1012
State- or Federal-Lead Cleanups................................................................... 1013
NFRAP’d Federal CERCLIS Sites................................................................ 1013
Potential for Third-Party Plaintiff Suits over Closed Sites............................1014
Advantages of RP Compliance under Superfund................................................1014
Long-Term Stewardship...................................................................................... 1015
Gasworks Remediation in the United Kingdom......................................................1016
Statutory Recognition of Gasworks in the United Kingdom..............................1017
Issue of “Orphaned” UK Gas and Coal-Tar Sites.............................................. 1019
UK Commitment to Consensus and Local Authority Participation................... 1020
Scottish Executive Moves to Streamline Its Guidance (2005)........................... 1020
2006 as a Year of Change for Gasworks Remediation in the
United Kingdom...............................................................................................1021
Resident Discovers Coal Tar at Bawtry, Yorkshire....................................... 1021
Relevant Applicability of the UK Environmental Act (1990)....................... 1021
Enter the Local Authority at Bawtry............................................................. 1022
Defining the Knowing Permitter................................................................... 1022
Recovery of Reasonable Remediation Costs................................................. 1022
Stipulation of the Knowing Parties................................................................ 1022
NGG Objects to the Assessed Contribution.................................................. 1023
Counter Arguments to the Position of NGG................................................. 1023
High Court’s Conclusions of Precedent......................................................... 1023
Trial Lawyer (Barrister) Comments on the NGG Case Impact......................... 1024
2009 and the Corby Borough Decision.............................................................. 1025
xxvi
Contents
Remediation under American Law......................................................................... 1025
Twenty-First Century Legal Flaws in Worldwide Coal-Tar Site Remediation....... 1026
Funding Remediation.............................................................................................. 1026
Late and Present Utility Industry Dilemma....................................................... 1027
Achieving Economy in FMGP Site Remediation............................................... 1027
Cost Estimation for Remedial Planning of FMGP Sites.................................... 1031
Underlying Factors Influencing Cost Spreads for Remediation of North
American FMGP Sites....................................................................................... 1032
Political Situation Facing Utility Owners of FMGP Sites.................................. 1032
Historic Changes in North American Utility Companies............................. 1032
Coming of the Environmental Era................................................................ 1036
Enter the British to North American Gas Properties.................................... 1036
Cost Recovery as a Means of Funding Gasworks Remediation......................... 1037
Coal-Tar Riders on Utility Rates................................................................... 1037
Coal-Tar Site Remediation Cost Factors........................................................ 1040
FMGP Litigation under American Environmental Law......................................... 1043
General Causes of Modern Gasworks Litigation............................................... 1043
General Prevalence of Modern Gasworks Litigation......................................... 1043
Remedial Cost Claims against General Liability Insurance Coverage.............. 1045
General Liability Notice Impact of the “March 1984 Letter”....................... 1045
Insurance Recovery Impact of the March 1984 Letter.................................. 1045
Response of the Insurance Industry.............................................................. 1066
Usual Technical Topics of Contention Gasworks Insurance Coverage
Litigation............................................................................................................ 1067
Seeking Site “Truths” in the Context of Remediation and of
Related Litigation.............................................................................................1068
Consideration of Historic Waste Management Practices................................... 1068
Basic Truths about Historic Gasworks Operational Practices........................... 1068
Judging the Truth Content of FMGP Site Characterization............................... 1070
Remediation Roles for Professional Scientists and Engineers................................ 1070
Hallmarks of a Profession.................................................................................. 1071
Understanding Employer Interests as Relative to the Law................................. 1071
Litigation Factors Impacting the Roles of Professional Engineers and
Scientists Involved in Coal-Tar Site Remediation................................................... 1072
Conduct of Adequate Site Historical Research.................................................. 1072
Expert Witnesses and Litigation Consultants..................................................... 1072
Ethics of Expert Technical Engineering and Science Testimony...................... 1074
Situations in Which the Expert Chooses to Compromise the Truth.................. 1074
Examination of Opposing Expert’s Previous Testimony................................... 1075
Expert Qualification Responsibilities of the Court and Other Parties to
the Case.............................................................................................................. 1075
Modern Court-Room Meanings Related to Expert Testimony on
Discharges of Gasworks Residuals and Wastes................................................. 1075
Commentary on the General Roles of Parties to Compelled Coal-Tar Site
Remediation............................................................................................................ 1076
Role of Government Agencies............................................................................ 1076
American Utility Industry (Post-1980) as FMGP RPs....................................... 1078
True Impact of RP Recalcitrance over CERCLA Provisions............................. 1079
Injured Residents, Neighbors, and Visiting Citizens.......................................... 1080
Citizens Calling for Gasworks Remediation...................................................... 1080
Some Projections toward Future Gasworks Litigation....................................... 1081
Contents
xxvii
Some Engineering and Scientific Aspects of Redevelopment of Coal-Tar Sites.... 1081
Summary................................................................................................................. 1083
Acknowledgments................................................................................................... 1083
Appendix A: History of Manufactured Gas and Related Technologies: Major
Chronological Events in the History of Manufactured Gas................................................... 1085
Appendix B: Historic Glossary of Manufactured Gas and Allied Technologies...................1117
Appendix C: Historic Gas Industry Personalities................................................................... 1201
Appendix D: Locations of Manufactured Gas Plants Worldwide......................................... 1215
Appendix E: American Gas Utility Companies Associated with FMGPs—Yesteryear’s
Holding Companies and Today’s Utilities................................................................................ 1267
Consolidated References............................................................................................................ 1287
Index............................................................................................................................................. 1321