Former Menasha Paper Plant What Did They Produce & Where Did It - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Former Menasha Paper Plant – What Did They Produce & Where Did It Go??

A Summary Of Publicly Available Documents & Information Contained In Menasha’s 104e Response By Dan Peabody

Former Menasha Paper Mill – 2 Business Operation Locations

The Otsego Mill parcel south of River Road & a parcel north of river road.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Business History & Facility Operations

• Menasha never recycled or de-inked

CCP known to contain PCBs.

• Menasha did not bleach paper using

chlorine which is the process known to produce dioxins.

• At no time has Menasha purchased,

recycled, deinked or otherwise used NCR paper, or other PCB containing paper, at the Otsego Mill.

• Constructed in 1887 as Bardeen

Paper Mill

• Otsego Falls Paper Co. purchased the

Bardeen Mill approx. 1934-1939

• 1939-1955 Menasha had joint
• wnership of Mill. Required

remaining interest in 1955 as Menasha Wooden Ware Co. -> Menasha Co.

• In June 2005, Menasha announced

the closing or sale of the Otsego plant

• Purchased by USG in March 2006 for

$18MM

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Generated Wastes

General Types of Waste

1. Solids

a. Fly ash, scrap waste, and sludges

2. Liquids

1. Liquors and wastewater

A total of 195 individual PCB tests results have been

• btained for Menasha's

process waste stream from 1971 to 1993. All were non- detect for PCBs. But what other contaminants WERE detected???

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Fly Ash

What Is Fly Ash??

• Fly ash is a residue by-product that forms during

coal combustion. Where Did The Fly Ash Go??

• Onsite Ponds & Landfill: Area 10- Area 10 was a

two-pond system used to pretreat lime- containing powerhouse wastewater which had been mixed with fly ash from the coal-fired

• boilers. Menasha installed these ponds in the

mid-1970's and they were removed in 1983. After 1983, fly as was collected and disposed of

• ff-site as a dry solid. A 5 acre on-site landfill

was operated from 1969 through 1984.

• Offsite Ponds: North of River Road- Area 13 is

the former site of 22 unlined earthen basins with a combined storage capacity of 28 million

• gallons. These basins were located North of

River Road approximately three quarters of a mile from the Kalamazoo River. Menasha used these basins to anaerobically digest wastewater treatment Sludge from the early 1970's until final closure of the ponds in 1986. What Contaminants Are In Fly Ash??

• 1979: Metals- some low-level hits.

– All samples below criteria for Metals

• 1982: Metals, PCBs- 20 test results on fly ash

and 5 test results on ash-lime wastewater sludge – All samples non-detect for PCBs – All samples below criteria for Metals

• 1983: Metals

– Non-detect or below criteria for all metals

• 1984: Metals- 1 sample was analyzed for Metals

(As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, Zn, Se) – Sample below criteria.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Scrap Waste

What Is Scrap Waste

• Waste produced that is not suitable for

incorporation into or during the production of paper products but are used in paper products due to be recycled. Materials can include tape, styrofoam, glue , sawdust, etc. Where Did The Scrap Waste Go??

• Onsite Ponds & Landfill: Area 10- Area 10 was a

two-pond system used to pretreat lime- containing powerhouse wastewater which had been mixed with fly ash from the coal-fired

• boilers. Menasha installed these ponds in the

mid-1970's and they were removed in 1983. After 1983, fly as was collected and disposed of

• ff-site as a dry solid.
• Offsite Ponds: North of River Road- Area 13 is

the former site of 22 unlined earthen basins with a combined storage capacity of 28 million

• gallons. These basins were located North of

River Road approximately three quarters of a mile from the Kalamazoo River. Menasha used these basins to anaerobically digest wastewater treatment Sludge from the early 1970's until final closure of the ponds in 1986.

What Contaminants Are In Scrap Waste??

• 1983: Metals- Secondary Fiber Rejects slated for

placement in landfill were analyzed for Metals – All samples were below MDEQ Residential criteria or non-detect.

• 1984: Pesticides- Menasha received boxes that

were labeled as previously containing pesticides. Samples of the product were sent to an independent lab. – The tests results were non-detect for Pesticides

• 1985: Metals- Waste residues slated for placement

in landfill were analyzed for Metals – Test results were non-detect or below MDEQ criteria

• 1988: Metals

– Test results were non-detect or below MDEQ Residential Drinking Water Criteria for all Metals.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Sludge Handling

What is Sludge??

• Sludge - Also known as Biosolids. Composed of

dead bacterial bodies from the aerobic digestion

• f dissolved solids as well as other suspended

solids such as papermaking fibers, sand, and bark.

Where Did The Sludge Go??

• Onsite:

– Sludge was captured throughout the process –

• Approx. 24 million tons of sludge was generated

annually.

• Offsite Ponds: Area 13 - Area 13 basins were located

North of River Road approximately three quarters of a mile from the Kalamazoo River. Ponds were originally “natural depressions” but additional ponds were dug, as needed. – Area 13 consisted of 22 unlined earthen basins with a combined storage capacity of 28 million gallons. – Twenty of these ponds contained only wastewater treatment Sludge and two of the ponds contained a mixture of wastewater treatment Sludge and Spent Liquor.

• Land applied:

– Land application began in the 1970. – Sludge from the offsite ponds was land applied as a soil amendment to that area during closure. – 47 private farms -> 18 million pounds – Menasha owned farm land

What Contaminants Were In The Sludge??

• 1985-1986- VOCs, Cyanide, Metals. Samples

collected during closure of landfill north of River Road. All detections are below MDEQ Residential Criteria.

• 1991-1994- Metals. Some detections. All

detections are below MDEQ Residential Criteria.

• 1993- PCBs & Pesticides- No detections of
• PCBs. Some detections of pesticides. All

detections are below MDEQ Residential Criteria.

• 1993- VOCs & BNAs- Some detections. All

detections are below MDEQ Residential Criteria.

• 1992- Dioxins. Results range from ND-20ppt.

All detections are below MDEQ and EPA Residential Criteria.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Waste Water Handling

Where Did The Wastewater Go??

• Wastewaters were discharged

directly to the Kalamazoo River

– No wastewaters discharge to sanitary sewer

• Wastewater records available

for part of 1970s and 1980- 1989

– 8,924,371,000 gallons discharged.

• Wastewater treatment Sludges

were routinely been used as a soil amendment at local area farms beginning in 1975. What Contaminants Were In The Wastewater??

• 120 test results on wastewater

discharges from 1971 to 1993

– All samples were non-detect for PCBs

• Wastewater samples were

collected from the outfalls to determine if wastewater is toxic to aquatic organisms (minnows and plankton) beginning in late 1970s thru 1980s.

– Most samples show limited or no toxicity to aquatic

• rganisms.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Spent Liquor Handling

What is Liquor??

• Spent Liquor - A liquid washed from virgin

Pulp to remove and recover the cooking chemical, sodium carbonate, from the liquor for reuse in the digesting process. The Spent Liquor is part of a virtual closed loop of chemical use in the digesting

• process. The Pulp is washed with water,

and the dissolved organic and inorganic materials in the Pulp are removed as "liquor". The liquor contains lignin, the glue that held the fibers together in the

• riginal wood chip, as well as wood

sugars, such as hemicellulose, and the spent sodium carbonate cooking chemical, which helps to modulate and buffer the chemical reactions during the cooking

• process. Water is evaporated from the

liquor, the organic lignin is burnt as a fuel, and the sodium carbonate is regenerated during the combustion as a solid. The solid cooking chemical, now called SLI product, is placed back in the Digester where it is reused to cook more wood chips into Pulp. Where Did The Liquor Go??

• Road Binder: Spent liquor used for dust control
• n county roads. Program began in 1954.

Spread at 4,000-8,000 gal./mile. Over 45 million gallons of Road Binder was used in Allegan County.

• Onsite Ponds: 2 Historic un-lined ponds on-Site

(Area 11 and Area 4). These ponds have been since been closed and a new area, Area 12, constructed using concrete was built in 1982 to replace Areas 4 and 11.

• Offsite Ponds: Area 13 - Area 13 basins were

located North of River Road approximately three quarters of a mile from the Kalamazoo River. – Area 13 consisted of 22 unlined earthen basins with a combined storage capacity of 28 million gallons. – Twenty of these ponds contained only wastewater treatment Sludge and two of the ponds contained a mixture of wastewater treatment Sludge and Spent Liquor.

Former Menasha Paper Mill – Spent Liquor Handling

What Contaminants Are In The Liquor??

• Spent liquor: sampled for PCBs in 1983 and

1993. – Results from both samples were non- detect for PCBs.

• City Well Contamination: In late 1960s,

wastewater and liquor was discovered to be contaminating private wells on 106th as well as a municipal well. Menasha purchased the well and took it offline from City supply.

– Data available is mostly water quality. – One private well exceeded MDEQ Residential Drinking Water Criteria for Zinc.

• “Road Binder”: spent liquor slated for use as

Road Binder was sampled in 1993 after rumor circulated waste oils were being mixed in with Road Binder. 1 sample from Truck Tank before filling, 1 from holding pond, and 1 from Truck Tank after filling. – Samples were non-detect for Pesticides. – All Metals were non-detect or below criteria. – Samples were analyzed for Dioxins and Chlorinated Solvents. Dioxin and chlorinated solvent data reported has not been located.

• On-site Ponds:

– Sludge removed from the bottom of the pond was non-detect for PCBs. – Samples were also analyzed for Metals and Cyanide.

• All soil and liquor samples from the

bottom of the ponds were below MDEQ Residential Criteria

• Offsite Ponds:

– Sludge removed from the bottom of the pond was analyzed for PCBs

• The sample was non-detect for PCBs

– Samples were also analyzed for Metals and Cyanide.

• All soil and liquor samples from the

bottom of the ponds were below MDEQ Criteria.