SEPA
United Stales
Environmental Protection
Agency
Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
(2201 A)
EPA 520-F-97-002
Spring 1997
Superfund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwide
Site Description: Abandoned
chemical storage facility and petro-
leum refinery
Site Size: Almost six acres
Primary Contaminants: Sulfuric
acid, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur
dioxide, and heavy metals
Potential Range of Health Effects:
Corrosive effects on lungs, skin, and
internal organs; central nervous
system disorders
Ecological Concerns: Three rivers
polluted in 1968 spill
Nearby Population: 35 people in
adjacent properties; 700 locally
Year Listed on NPL: 1983
EPA Region: 3
State: Pennsylvania
Congressional District: 4
Included on the first NPL, Bruin Lagoon shared a fence line with several
houses and Bear Creek.
Success in Brief
Lagoon Wastes Meet Quiet Demise
When Congress first passed environmental legislation in 1980,
EPA began by asking the states what hazardous waste sites needed
cleanup first. At that time, the primary means to get federal dollars
and immediate attention, was a score on the Hazard Ranking Sys-
tem (MRS). Originally developed in 1982, the HRS evaluated the
risk to the environment over five "pathways" or routes of exposure.
The resulting score was based on contaminant migration through
ground water, surface water, and air. The other two pathways,
direct contact and fire or explosion potential, determined whether
substantial endangerment required emergency removal actions.
Scores could range from 0 to 100, but a score of 28.5 was the cutoff
point for the first National Priorities List (NPL) comprised of 400
sites. In 1990, ER^ revised the HRS to add a new pathway, soil
exposure.
Another mechanism to place sites on the NPL allows States or
Territories to designate one top-priority site regardless of score. Of
the 57 States or Territories, 40 have nominated their worst site. A
third mechanism allows for listing a site if a health advisory recom-
mends dissociation for nearby residents, the site poses a significant
threat, and site conditions dictate long-term remediation instead of
emergency removal.
Bruin Lagoon in Butler
County, Pennsylvania was
added to the NPL with a score in
the 90s. The cleanup embodied
a common sense approach to
immobilize the wastes, commu-
nity involvement, and perma-
nent closure with little fanfare.
The Site Today
A multi-layer cap entombs
the lagoon and its stabilized
sludge behind a chainlink fence.
An occasional weed or wild
flower takes hold in the grassy
surface. Not much else will
ever grow here and no one will
build anything here again.
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Superfund At Work • Bruin Lagoon Site, Butler County, PA • Spring 1997
A Site Snapshot
The Bruin Lagoon site covers
almost six fenced acres in Bruin
Borough, Butler County, Penn-
sylvania. The site was an
abandoned chemical storage
facility and former petroleum
refinery located roughly 45
miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The site is partially situated in
the 100-year floodplain of the
South Branch of Bear Creek,
seven miles upstream of the
Allegheny River.
Operations at the site began
in the 1930s when the Bruin Oil
Company, located on adjacent
property to the south, used a
chemical storage lagoon to
dispose of mineral oil produc-
tion wastes and motor oil
reclamation wastes. Disposal
operations continued for a
period of 40 years. Materials
mixed in the lagoon formed
lethal organic gases that eventu-
ally erupted through vents in the
surface.
An abandoned coal mine
located a half mile northeast of
the site was a primary contribu-
tor to poor ground water quality
in the area. Ground water
contaminants included sulfuric
acid, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric
dioxide, and acidic sludges.
Several homes for 35 people had
been built adjacent to the site,
and another 700 people reside in
the community. A breached dike
caused a major fish kill
downriver, and flooding thor-
oughly contaminated one
neighbor's property. No re-
ported health effects were docu-
mented from the population at
large.
!co-disasters and
Fish Kill Affects Thousands
Downstream
In 1968, Bruin Lagoon re-
ceived national attention when
3,000 gallons of acidic sludge
spilled into the South Branch of
Bear Creek through a breach in
the dike. The contaminants
entered the Allegheny River
and eventually the Ohio River,
traveling as far as Cincinnati.
An estimated 4,000,000 fish died
in river ecosystems spanning
more than 100 miles. Many
more uncounted birds, water
mammals, and amphibians
were killed or poisoned along
the way. State officials cited the
Bruin Oil Company for dam-
ages and hurried repairs to the
earthen dike were made. But
Bruin Lagoon
Timeline
• Second round of field studies
Toxic gas release
• Removal actions stabilize lagoon, surface
tanks removed
• Site added to NPL
USAGE and State begin field work
c
EPA begins probe of site
Record of Decision
• Flood contaminates
neighbor's property
• Congress enacts Superfund
• Fish kill into <(
Allegheny.
Monongahela,
and Ohio Rivers
Mineral oil and refinery
wastes disposed
1
1
1930s
1968
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
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Superfund At Work • Bruin Lagoon Site, Butler County, PA • Spring 1997
Public Outrage Force Closure of Hazardous Disposal Lai
downstream communities,
including Pittsburgh, had to
temporarily close off water
supply systems. The spill made
major headlines and shortly
thereafter, the company closed
its doors and declared bank-
ruptcy.
In 1980, a flood caused the
lagoon to overflow, contaminat-
ing the property north of the
lagoon. State authorities nomi-
nated the site as a priority
under the newly enacted
"Superfund law", the Compre-
hensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980. Derived
from exise taxes on chemical
feedstocks and crude oil, the
Superfund cleans up aban-
Bruin Lagoon Site
Butler County, PA
The 1968 Bruin Lagoon spill contaminated more
than 100 miles of waterway along three rivers.
doned or uncontrolled hazard-
ous waste sites and can be used
for accidents, spills, and other
emergency releases of pollut-
ants into the environment.
In July 1981, EPA began a
probe of the various contami-
nants at the site. An estimated
35,000 cubic yards of contami-
nated sludge filled the open
Continued on page 4
Public meetings to communicate progress
y • USAGE administers formal design progress
• Engineers complete remedial design project
Crews install gas vents
Water treatment plant operational
Sludge stabilization efforts proceed until winter
Video cameras and air monitoring equipment installed
Stabilized sludge added to subgrade
Multilayer cap installed
State assumes operation
and maintenance work
Second
5-year
review
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Superfund At Work • Bruin Lagoon Site, Butler County, PA • Spring 1997
Continued from page 3
lagoon. The following June,
the report of findings culmi-
nated in a Record of Decision
to cover the lagoon with an
impermeable, multilayer cap.
In September 1982, EPA signed
a contract with the State, using
the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers for support. Work began
in August, 1983 to remove
liquid floating on top, to stabi-
lize the lagoon walls and dikes,
and to remove scrap storage
tanks and equipment. A chan-
nel was constructed to prevent
ground water from entering
the site.
That same year, Bruin La-
goon was officially added to
the National Priorities List
(NPL), a roster of hazardous
waste sites eligible for federal
cleanup. Given the types of
contaminants and the proxim-
ity of the site to Bear Creek and
several homes, EPA added
Bruin Lagoon to the NPL.
Since that time, more than 1200
other sites have been listed.
EPA Controls Toxic Gas Leak
Construction activities
continued until May, 1984
when workers penetrated a
previously unidentified crust
layer, releasing a poisonous
gas that contained high con-
centrations of carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, and sulfuric
acid mist. EPA called in an
emergency team of specialists
to cover the hot spot with
stabilized sludge and to install
gas monitoring wells. A
second investigation com-
menced during the winter to
reevaluate the site; field activi-
ties continued all summer
through October, 1985.
While monitoring the gas,
sludges, and ground water
around the lagoon, EPA com-
pleted analyses to select the best
cleanup method. A public
meeting and comment period in
August 1986 evidenced a high
degree of community involve-
ment as well as Congressional
and state concern. Following a
formal decision to expand upon
the remedy previously chosen,
the Army Corps of Engineers
prepared blueprints and
awarded contracts for the reme-
dial work.
Before the start of construc-
tion, EPA held a meeting at the
Bruin Fire Hall with the Butler
County Emergency Manage-
ment Agency and local officials.
Community members had
requested a warning siren to
detect a gas release or construc-
tion accident. Following instal-
lation of the siren, EPA estab-
lished a 24-hour hotline with
the fire department. A team of
residents, township officials,
and the fire department began
regular meetings with EPA to
discuss cleanup progress as well
as concerns such as property
values.
EPA then asked the USACE
to administer the formal design
for the site in March, 1987 and a
professional consulting team
completed their report in July,
1988. Proposals for competitive
contracts to conduct the actual
construction took about nine
months.
In June 1989, crews installed
20 pre-construction gas vent
wells to prevent a large pres-
surized gas release. Sedimenta-
tion ponds and diversion
ditches served to control pre-
cipitation, excess surface water,
and silt. In order to neutralize
the remaining sludge, crews
excavated and hauled the la-
goon wastes to mixing pits. An
on-site water treatment plant
treated all water that came in
contact with raw wastes from
the open excavations. Decon-
tamination water also was
treated and the effluent dis-
charged into a tributary of the
South Branch of Bear Creek.
Crews then scraped the bedrock
of the lagoon, applied six inches
of limestone aggregate, and
backfilled with the stablized
sludge until the onset of winter.
Communications and Monitor-
ing Ensure Safety
Before resuming construction
in May 1990, a second Emer-
gency Response Meeting con-
vened to better communicate
with county and borough offi-
cials. A new notification plan
would keep the community
current with progress through
fact sheets, a radio talk show,
and a site tour. In addition, a
remotely controlled black and
white video camera was in-
stalled on a pole to record a
Continued on page 5
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Superfund At Work • Bruin Lagoon Site, Butler County, PA • Spring 1997
"birds eye view" of the
construction activities. A hand-
held video camera also recorded
milestones and provided close-
up color documentation of
various sludge types, mixing
operations, and material place-
ment such as the bedrock neu-
tralization.
To ensure continuous air
quality for both the surround-
ing neighborhood and on-site
workers, continuous perimeter
monitoring sampled for sulfur
dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and
dust. Work areas also were
tested every half hour for or-
ganics and explosiveness. De-
spite the threat of off-gassing,
crews finished the sludge stabi-
lization without incident on
November 1,1990. This addi-
tional material was added to the
subgrade layers as well as more
rip-rap for embankment protec-
tion. The surface was capped in
the spring of 1991, including
seeding for grass. On July 1992,
the state of Pennsylvania as-
sumed all responsibility for
operations and maintenance,
including annual inspections to
ensure effective erosion control
measures, routine mowing,
maintenance of the perimeter
fence, and periodic sampling of
ground water monitoring wells.
The Bullhead and the Sof tshell
An uncounted number of species
suffered or died when highly
acidic, petroleum-based con-
taminants from Bruin Lagoon
spread through an already-
compromised Ohio River eco-
system in 1968. The softshell turtle and the bullhead were
among the hardest hit. Both species are bottom feeders,
preferring aquatic insects, crayfish, mollusks, and other fish
in the food chain.
Current scientific research suggests a connection between a
wide range of animal disorders and industrial chemicals.
Among the disorders which may be related to chemical
exposure are decreased fertility, decreased hatching success,
gross birth deformities, and behavioral abnormalities. Au-
topsied bullhead, for example, have exhibited enlarged livers,
various rumors, lesions on the mouth, and ulcers of the stom-
ach, esophagus, and intestines. Changes in body mass and
shell erosion have been found in the softshell turtle.
Not until passage of the Clean Water Act in 1977 were
effluent standards set for individual toxic pollutants and
industries required to obtain discharge permits. Through
water quality based permitting, chemical-specific standards
as well as whole effluent testing have helped to reduce loads
of toxic chemicals into the Ohio River ecosystem. Through
these and related regulatory and environmental management
initiatives, the ecosystem has improved dramatically and
both species remain
in the Ohio River.
However, there
remains the need to
improve techniques
to identify chemicals
that may cause
reproductive, devel-
opmental, and syner-
gistic effects and to
test the effects of
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Superfund At Work • Bruin Lagoon Butler County, PA • Spring 1997
Success at Bruin Lagoon
We've had a long history in this country of burying our toxic and chemical wastes, only to
have those graveyards erupt years later. The hours and dollars spent to clean up or remove the
contaminants always far outweigh the costs of disposal on an order of magnitude in the mil-
lions. Before these sites come to closure, wildlife suffers, sensitive species fail to reproduce, and
some surrender to extinction.
Because the U.S. has thousands of abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, many
worse than Bruin Lagoon, states, federal agencies, and responsible parties have formed a net-
work of professionals who tackle the complex issues posed at each location. Each site has a
specific set of destroyed variables in the ecosystem, synergistic effects in the food chain, and
unique challenges for remedial technology. From reports on failures and successes alike, this
information is now exchanged at public meetings, university seminars, national conventions,
and on the Internet. Every community needs this information to intelligently design solutions
for upcoming sites in the queue. But as a society, the lessons of pollution prevention will take
us further than the bandaids we apply today.
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