The Use Of Abandoned Solution Mined Cavities For Storage Of Plant Wastes ? Introduction

In 1960 the management of International Salt Company made the decision that all waste material from the Watkins Glen plant would be stored in underground salt cavities. The cavities which they contemplated using had been depleted of salt to a point where continued operation would have impaired their structural stability. Originally, the waste to be disposed of included vacuum pan bleeds, cinders, contaminated salt and sewage. It was proposed that this material, in a slurry form, was to be injected into the salt cavity through one of the abandoned wells. Brine, displaced from the cavity, was to be recovered from an adjacent well and subsequently injected into the Cherry Valley limestone, This Cherry Valley limestone which underlies a large portion of north central New York contains a connate water with high concentrations of ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and the chlorides of calcium, magnesium and sodium. A number of questions were immediately raised on various aspects of the technical feasibility of the project. Of major concern was the buildup of insolubles adjacent to the bore of the injection well. Another pertinent question was the carryover in the displaced liquor of finely-divided, mechanically-suspended particles. Criticism was leveled at the inclusion of sewage. Engineering studies were started by the company's Mineral & Mines Development Department and on April 3, 1961 a preliminary feasibility report was issued.