aim, page-2

excellent stuff uk chat this is from uk chat
its all interesting stuff but bro1 second post is the important 1 imo

pkw assumptions are also of interest



uk chat

bros1 - 19 Feb'05 - 20:38 - 255 of 409


http://www.er.dtu.dk/publications/fulltext/2004/MR2004-007.pdf


http://www.er.dtu.dk/CV/hyg/H%C3%9CLYA%20GEN%C3%87.doc

http://www.lwr.kth.se/Personal/personer/bhattacharya_prosun/BWo06-FINALPROGRAMME_Schedule.pdf


http://www.lwr.kth.se/Personal/personer/bhattacharya_prosun/IGC2004_BWo-06_FLORENCE_presentations.htm


==============
http://www.ott.wrcc.osmre.gov/library/proceed/sudbury2003/sudbury03/prof146.html

Potential Soil Amendments for Acid Generating Waste Rock


Presenter: Carman Stevens
Author(s):
Peter Beckett


Abstract
Nickel and copper mining may produce acid generating waste products, aluminium mining produces alkaline waste and limestone mining destroys some unique ecosystems in Canada. The ability to reduce or find alternatives to mining limestone as a neutralization product for acid generating reclamation projects would be very beneficial to the Canadian environment. Inco’s Whistle mine in the Sudbury basin is a former small open pit located 12 kilometres from Capreol. Seven million tons of waste rock were removed from the pit and need reclamation. The rock has a pH ranging from 4.2 to 4.7 and is comprised of nickel, copper, iron, manganese, and sulphides that are potential acid-generating materials.A project was initiated to establish the use of three possible reclamation amendments to neutralize the soils and provide a medium suitable for plant growth. ONDEO-Nalco products, KB-1 and KB-SEA, and Virotech’s Bauxsol™ were tested for neutralization and metal binding capabilities on Whistle mine waste soils. The KB-1 and KB-SEA contain approximately 50% calcium oxide and the bauxsol compound was developed from caustic red mud residues generated from the Bayer process of alumina production. After initial soil pH and metal analyses, germination tests were undertaken to determine if any of these chemicals would be toxic to the local reclamation grass seed mix, and if not, to determine an appropriate application rate. Subsequent establishment and growth experiments (measuring biomass, root and shoot lengths) were carried out using calcium carbonate (lime) for a baseline comparison. Germination results indicated application rates of up to 10% chemical compound were not toxic in preventing initial germination of the seeds. However, soil pH results determined application rates of 0.5% for the KB-1 and KB-SEA compounds, and 10% weight/weight for the bauxsol. The growth experiments resulted in two significantly different groups among the treatments, KB-SEA and calcium carbonate in one group and the rest in another. Further field trials are essential to determine longterm effects of the materials.
====================
http://lewistownsentinel.com/articles.asp?articleID=2904

Stabilizing slope priority in black shale treatment
Michael Dawson Sentinel Reporter


LEWISTOWN — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation continues to devise options for treating acidic black shale found last year on the U.S. 22/522 bypass project in Granville Township.
But a PennDOT official said Wednesday the center of attention rests with stabilizing the slope in which the shale was found, a slope that became unstable after tropical storms in September 2004.
“The primary focus right now is the rehabilitation of the slope that contains the pyritic material,” said PennDOT’s local project manager, Daniel Sokoloski.
The pyritic material — black shale — was found by state highway construction crews in August 2004. PennDOT said in September 2004 that the shale caused acidic stormwater runoff but posed no threat to residential wells in the area.
Stabilizing the slope means removing the black shale, said acting PennDOT District 2 Executive, Kevin Kline, who took over for retired district executive George Khoury on Sunday.
“What we’re looking at, again, is cutting that bank away and laying the slope back,” Kline said on Tuesday. “With that, we’ll get the majority of the (black shale) out of the there.”
Sokoloski said the stability of the slope “is necessary to finish” the U.S. 22/522 bypass project.
After the black shale is removed, PennDOT plans to neutralize it by mixing it with limestone. The mixed material then will be deposited in the bypass project’s 2-million-yard-sized waste area, where materials inside it have a high pH balance, Kline said. That will keep the materials neutralized.
On Tuesday, Kline said PennDOT hopes to have approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) this week regarding its proposal to stabilize the slope on the U.S. 22/522 bypass project.
In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been involved with the black shale issue since the shale’s discovery. The department has monitored the situation to assure no residential wells become contaminated.
John Repetz, a spokesperson for DEP, called removing the shale to stabilize the slope “the key to correcting the situation.”
He added “there have been no problems discovered” after further well testing for contamination.
However, PennDOT does not know when the corrective slope stabilization measures will be taken.
“No concrete time frame is in place, but we are working as quickly as we can,” said spokesperson Marla Fannin.
Kline added PennDOT wants to “stay out of anything that will cause permanent treatment.”
Additionally, PennDOT may consider using a product called Bauxsol that removes minerals from water. Kline said it is nicknamed “red clay.”
Similarly, Bauxsol was considered for the mitigation of the acidic drainage on the I-99 project in Centre County.
In Mifflin County, PennDOT continues to treat stormwater runoff and monitor local wells adjacent to the U.S. 22/522 project site. Cold temperatures have kept water frozen, hindering the process. However, officials expect it to pick up once the snow melts.
DEP continues to monitor the situation, and it has an inspector who visits the site to compare testing and other data taken by PennDOT, Repetz said.

Section: News Date Posted: 2/3/2005
As appearing in Thursday - February 3, 2005 edition of The Sentinel

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/8753766.htm

====================

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Returning 1 articles of 1 found.
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Article 1 of 1; 849 words

SCIENTISTS SEEK HELP ABROAD
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO TAKE UP ACID PROBLEM

Source: By Mike Joseph

[email protected]
Penn State scientists and ClearWater Conservancy will convene an international conference of acid-pollution ex perts to offer their knowledge to state officials facing decisions on the pyrite cleanup at an Interstate 99 construction site at Skytop.The principal organizers, two retired geological science professors, said they scheduled the Dec. 20-21 conference on short notice to provide the information before the year's end, when the state departments of Transportation and

Published on November 25, 2004, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)



http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/local/8184671.htm

=========================

http://www.saconservancy.org/projects/RR/RR3%2011-1-04%20Update.pdf

Virotec
Purpose: Demonstrate the applicability of patented Bauxsol product in the treatment of
AMD.
Virotec has completed their demonstration project at Topper Run. No data
has been provided at this time.

http://www.scrip.pa-conservation.org/lcstmike.htm


==========================


http://irc.info.omikk.bme.hu/dok/Okotech_2004_Catalogue.pdf


VIVIDUS Technical Consulting and Marketing Ltd
Ref: TO_HU_4567
Bauxsol Technology, and the products derived from this platform technology Viromine,
ViroFlow, ViroSewage and Basecon Technology ........................................................... 110

!

bros1 - 20 Feb'05 - 20:49 - 257 of 409


more on PennDOT

BINGO !!!!! (after more reading on PennDOT I found a gem, read at the bottom)



http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=485


http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/local/10471835.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 22, 2004

========================
========================

Article 1 of 33; 898 words


FILL AREA LEACHING ACID

Source: By Mike Joseph


[email protected]
Tests on groundwater under a huge fill area at an Interstate 99 construction site at Skytop Mountain show sulfate levels substantially above the level that the state regards as too high, environmental regulators said Thurs day.But they added that the resulting contamination "is not anywhere near as severe" as that which occurs in leachate from highly sulfurous spoil piles marked for removal from the Skytop construction site. The fill area, unlike the spoil piles, sits on limestone

Published on February 11, 2005, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 2 of 33; 391 words


OUR VIEW

I-99 PLAN MAY WORK

Source: FROM CDT EDITORIAL STAFF
It may not be perfect, but at least it's a plan. The state Department of Transportation last week announced how -- tentatively -- it intends to deal with the pyritic rocks at the Interstate 99 construction site at Skytop Mountain and resume the long-delayed highway project.Pyrite, or iron sulfide, when exposed to water and air, forms sulfuric acid, which dissolves heavy metals into water contaminants.Under the PennDOT proposal, some of the pyrite-containing rocks will be moved to a

Published on January 19, 2005, Page 6A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 3 of 33; 971 words


STATE HAS PLAN FOR I-99 CLEANUP

Source: By Mike Joseph

[email protected]
State road builders on Thursday set forth a general environmental cleanup plan that would allow Interstate 99 construction at Skytop Mountain to resume this summer, would open the four-lane highway from Grays Woods to Port Matilda in 2006, and would cost perhaps $25 million."We could be removing rocks this summer," state Department of Transportation district executive George Khoury told two dozen engineers and geologists trying to eliminate the threat of water contamination five

Published on January 14, 2005, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 4 of 33; 1320 words


LOOKING BACK AT 2004

CENTRE REGION READERS VOTED THE FOLLOWING STORIES THE TOP 10 OF THE YEAR:

Source: FROM CDT STAFF REPORTS
No. 1: Acid rock unearthed near Interstate 99In 2003, the state Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection made a mistake.While digging into Skytop Mountain to carve out the road bed for Interstate 99, road builders dug up massive amounts -- about 1 million cubic yards -- of sandstone laced with iron pyrite. When PennDOT realized the pyrite was there, it decided to keep digging, deposit the unearthed rocks in spoil piles on the construction site and layer the piles with

Published on January 2, 2005, Page 1C, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 5 of 33; 183 words


THE LOCAL HEADLINES OF '04

Source: FROM CDT STAFF REPORTS
Here are the top local stories of the year, as chosen by Centre Daily Times readers:1. Acid-rock drainage from I-99 construction threatens water supplies.2. A 44-vehicle pileup on Interstate 80 kills six in January.3. The remnants of Hurricane Ivan cause widespread flooding.4. Bellefonte Academy is destroyed by fire.5. Fire destroys Mount Nittany Inn a second time.6. Local voters turn out in record numbers on Election Day; President Bush wins county.7. Bellefonte

Published on January 2, 2005, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 6 of 33; 961 words


LOCAL PENNDOT CHIEF TO RETIRE

Source: By Mike Joseph

[email protected]
The state Department of Trans portation announced Wednesday that district executive George Khoury, who has been directing the cleanup of acid-rock drainage at Skytop for the past year, will retire Jan. 28 after 35 years with the department.Khoury, 58, a Lemont resident with a civil engineering degree from Penn State, began working for PennDOT's nine-county District 2 in January 1970, was promoted to assistant district engineer for maintenance 12 years later and became the

Published on December 30, 2004, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 7 of 33; 756 words


STATE TO TEST FOR HOT SPOTS IN I-99 PILES

CONFERENCE BRINGS EXPERTS TOGETHER TO SHARE IDEAS ABOUT ACID ROCK

Source: By Mike Joseph

[email protected]
UNIVERSITY PARK -- State regulators said Monday that they want to begin monitoring the temperature of areas in the pyritic spoil piles at Skytop to better identify hot spots that a geologist said can "grow in the waste pile like a cancer."The comments of state Department of Environmental Protection regional officials came in an interview following a presentation at the "Acid Pollution Control Along Highways" conference sponsored by the Penn State geosciences department

Published on December 21, 2004, Page 1A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 8 of 33; 805 words


PYRITE AND I-99

Source: FROM CDT STAFF REPORTS
Early 1990s: A panel of community advisers help plan the long-envisioned improvement of U.S. Route 220 through the Bald Eagle Valley. Traffic studies show most vehicular traffic in Centre County goes to State College, so a decision is made to route the interstate over the ridge at Skytop.1995-96: Although federal environmental regulators note that Buffalo Run "tends to interact strongly with groundwater" and that "treatment of stormwater and highway runoff in the area of

Published on December 19, 2004, Page 11A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 9 of 33; 578 words


THE ROAD AHEAD

Source: FROM CDT STAFF REPORTS
The Skytop section of Interstate 99 is only 1.4 of the five miles between the Grays Woods interchange and Port Matilda. That 5-mile section was to have opened by the end of this year, but the environmental cleanup has delayed completion probably until 2006.Another eight miles of I-99 is under construction along the Bald Eagle Ridge from Port Matilda to the point near Tyrone where the already-open I-99 ends in Blair County.That section is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007.

Published on December 19, 2004, Page 11A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)


Article 10 of 33; 1018 words


INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS FOCUS ON I-99 PROBLEMS

Source: FROM CDT STAFF REPORTS
The conclusion that Interstate 99 from Bald Eagle Valley should cross the ridge at Skytop into Nittany Valley was driven by social and political decisions, but there were unforeseen environmental and engineering ramifications.The consequences have been the unearthing of two quite different but nonetheless serious types of problems. They are, first, an unforeseen complexity to the rock structure near the ridge crest and, secondly, a completely unexpected and disastrous concentration in those

Published on December 19, 2004, Page 8A, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)






PennDOT to review acid plan

Conference brings new possibilities

By Mike Joseph

[email protected]


New information presented Monday and Tuesday may delay decisions on how to clean up nearly a million cubic yards of pyritic rocks at an Interstate 99 construction site at Skytop, the state Department of Transportation indicated.

At the close of a two-day conference sponsored by Penn State's geosciences department and ClearWater Conservancy, PennDOT district executive George Khoury said engineers and geologists would now "go back" with the new information and re-evaluate their plans.

"Let's be smart about this and make the right decision based on all the facts," Khoury said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has been urging PennDOT to decide by early next month on what to do with the spoil piles and fill areas that are leaching acidic drainage. PennDOT officials have said they hoped to begin work on a permanent solution by spring.

The two state agencies had appeared to be moving toward a plan that would move at least four of the pyritic spoil piles and fill areas to a single landfill-type site -- lined on the bottom and capped on top -- outside the Buffalo Run watershed.

Indeed, at a legislative hearing in August, both PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler and DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty agreed that locating a final resting place for the pyritic material was the most important step ahead.

But presentations Tuesday by Penn State mineral processing professor Subhash Chander and Australian geochemistry professor David McConchie raised questions about relocating the material. Chander, emphasizing that different pyrites behave differently, recommended a thorough investigation of the specific problem followed by tests before making a decision.

"I think what we need is an expert panel (to) look into it and come up with recommendations," Chander said.

During Chander's talk, Penn State geologist Richard Parizek suggested tests be conducted on a fairly substantial amount of the pyritic material from Skytop -- perhaps a roomful -- before deciding to move the whole lot of it and risk handing the problem to the "receiving site."

McConchie markets a chemical agent called Bauxol, which neutralizes acidic drainage and extracts metals. He said cleanup techniques that line, cap and encapsulate pyritic rocks really just defer the pollution potential until some time in the future.

"I've never seen structures made by humans that can last forever," he said.

But DEP officials raised questions about whether the McConchie technology would keep unseen acidic spoil pile drainage from seeping into groundwater. And they balked at the prospect of waiting longer before starting to act.

"Until we move it, it's continuing to put stuff into the groundwater over which we have no control," said Robert Yowell, director of DEP's 14-county northcentral region. "How much longer can we wait with significant amounts going to groundwater? Pretty soon is already behind us."

The caution counseled at Tuesday's session of the conference, "Acid Pollution Control Along Highways," underscored how complicated the problem is. The day before, the audience of more than 100 was told by Virginia geologist J.D. Rimstidt that time is of the essence.

Although Rimstidt said that "any kind of remediation scheme needs to be in for the long haul," he emphasized the importance of identifying and quenching the most acidic spots in the piles because they grow like cancer.

"This is a race," Rimstidt said. "It's a race between acid production and your ability to neutralize it."


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Mike Joseph can be reached at 235-3910.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

CONTRACT ???????


http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/special_packages/i99/10641102.htm


Posted on Fri, Jan. 14, 2005





State has plan for I-99 cleanup

By Mike Joseph

[email protected]


State road builders on Thursday set forth a general environmental cleanup plan that would allow Interstate 99 construction at Skytop Mountain to resume this summer, would open the four-lane highway from Grays Woods to Port Matilda in 2006, and would cost perhaps $25 million.

"We could be removing rocks this summer," state Department of Transportation district executive George Khoury told two dozen engineers and geologists trying to eliminate the threat of water contamination five miles west of State College.

The plan, though still tentative, would most likely involve moving up to a million cubic yards of pyrite-laced sandstone from Skytop spoil piles to a still-unidentified permanent landfill-type site along the I-99 corridor in the Bald Eagle Valley.

The already-completed section of I-99 at Skytop, though it is paved over pyritic fill, would be left intact under the plan outlined by Khoury, who is retiring in two weeks.

That paved section starts on the Buffalo Run side of the Skytop crest and continues almost a mile down the Bald Eagle Creek side. PennDOT said last summer that one-third of the 800,000 cubic yards of fill there is pyritic. The highest concentration of pyrite is near the Skytop crest, a PennDOT consultant said last year.

Some of the fill in the paved section is there to support, or buttress, the mountainside above, and some was used to separate, or bifurcate, I-99's northbound and southbound lanes.

"We cannot remove that buttress and ensure slope stability along the slope there," Khoury said.

"We would end up with another slide condition."

Instead, Khoury said, PennDOT intends to "limit" the infiltration of water into the area by covering it with layers of plastic and other materials that would, in turn, be covered by topsoil and grass. The pyritic fill between the I-99 lanes would be similarly "isolated" from rain and snow.

Whatever acidic drainage remains would be treated to neutralize it before it gets into Bald Eagle Creek, Khoury and Kline said.

The environmental hazard at Skytop developed because road builders unearthed massive amounts of a highly concentrated form of pyrite, or iron sulfide. When pyrite is exposed to air and water, it forms sulfuric acid, which dissolves heavy metals such as lead, iron, aluminum and manganese into water contaminants.

Kline said PennDOT has similar plans to have its contractor, HRI Inc. of State College, cover the face of the big road cut through Skytop with plastic sheeting and webbed material that would hold topsoil and nurse a grassy surface.

The cut face, the length of two football fields and the height of one, is the cross-sectional wall of the Skytop Mountain left exposed by the road excavation.

Kline said Thursday that PennDOT has been working to determine whether acidic runoff from the cut face emanates from groundwater within or rain infiltrating it.

He said the source is rainwater, so runoff can be curbed by covering the cut face.

Khoury refused to identify the 35-acre site where PennDOT may dump up to a million cubic yards of pyritic rocks.

The rocks will be mixed with one third as much lime or another neutralizing agent, an aluminum-manufacturing byproduct called Bauxol that Skytop troubleshooters learned about at a Penn State conference last month.

He said PennDOT has not yet negotiated a deal to buy the land. The state, he said, is still negotiating with a company that has offered to haul the rocks to a fly-ash dump in Indiana County, suggesting that the cost to the state could be the decisive factor.

Referring to the Indiana County proposal, Khoury said: "It is conceivable at this point that that is a cost-effective solution."

Khoury estimated that the environmental cleanup cost for Skytop will amount to between $20 million and $25 million. The original construction contract for the 1.4-mile section was about $40 million.

Khoury said he is hopeful that environmental regulators will allow I-99 construction to resume at Skytop this summer, when removal of the pyritic rock begins. A state Department of Environmental Protection permitting process, perhaps three months long, will be required for either the Bald Eagle Valley or the Indiana County dump site.

Penn State geologist Richard Parizek, an expert in groundwater flows, has raised concerns that a Bald Eagle Valley disposal site, if it did not remain secure, could jeopardize the public well water supplies of Port Matilda borough.

Gary Byron, assistant director of DEP's 14-county northcentral region, said his staff and DEP district mining director Mike Smith's staff looked into the Parizek question and concluded that all four possible permanent disposal sites are downstream from the Port Matilda well fields.

"The bottom line is that Mike's staff and my staff feel that there's absolutely no risk at all to the Port Matilda public water supply based on what we know at this point," Byron said.

DEP hydrogeologist Randy Farmerie concurred that there was no risk, though with a slight qualification: "Although with this project I'm always leery to say never," he said, "it seems damn unlikely."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Joseph can be reached at 235-3910.

==============
==============

good visual

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/special_packages/i99/10456918.htm

CLEANER

PKW - 21 Feb'05 - 11:18 - 259 of 409


bros1 - excellent! So, the Pennsylvania Dept.of Transportation HAS decided
to move the contaminant causing 1 MILLION CU.YDS and .....
"The rocks WILL be mixed with one third as much lime or another neutralizing agent, an aluminum-manufacturing byproduct called BAUXSOL, that Skytop troubleshooters learned about at a Penn State conference last month"
(Lime is a definite no-no from what I have been told - lime,red clay, nice
caustic jelly will result - damage to wild life etc etc. So, it would have to be Bauxsol!)

And if the Penn Dept.of Transport is persuaded that it could achieve
what it is absolutely bound to do WITHOUT moving the 1 million cu.yds
- ie. use the Bauxsol process in situ, which all the research would
suggest can absolutely be done and more efficiently and more cost
effectively, then VTI and Bauxsol will be THE solution in the US for
many many huge projects!

With all that focus on the water pollution aspect and bearing in mind that
Bauxsol has ALREADY got the necessary US approvals in place from the
US Environment Protection Agency (and four years
of successful test results which showed that the Virotec solution was the
ONLY one which worked) this must surely be about to become an enormous contract
win for VTI.

VTI could be about to rocket.


regards gaga

newbies do your own research