Slurry wall containment at National Grid’s Harbor Point site

Michael S. Schultz and Terry W. Young

Abstract

The Harbor Point Site is located on a peninsula in the City of Utica, New York. This approximately 140 acre site was heavily industrialized for more than 100 years between 1848 and 1953. Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) facilities included a water gas plant, a coal gas plant and associated support facilities for the storage and distribution of MGP gas and bi-products. Other facilities related to the transport, storage and operations for tar, coal and petroleum based products were operated on adja-cent facilities. The National Grid multi-site order with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) provides the legal agreement for the remediation of the site. A key to this remediation is the containment of the former water gas plant (WGP) using a soil-bentonite slurry wall surrounding the WGP and installed to depths of 55 feet to contain coal tars and NAPLs encountered at depth. Extensive lab studies were undertaken to prove to the regulating authority that the soil-bentonite mixture would not deteriorate over time once it comes in direct contact with the coal tar and NAPL. This paper explains the containment approach, presents the design elements of the containment and compatibility testing, and discusses the results of the chemical compatibility studies conducted in the laboratory.

Key words:chemical compatibility testing, DNAPL testing, manufactured gas plant, slurry wall containment, soil-bentonite slurry walls

© 2007 EPP Publications Ltd

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Article code 757