I
i L1brar EPA l eg1o
IN JSTRIAL WASTE SURVEY
MARC AL PAPER MILLS INC.
SOUTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS
JUNE 8, 1972

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IND(JSTRIRL WASTE SURV
MARC AL PAPER MILLS, INC.
SOUTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS
JUNE 8, 1972
On June 8, 1972, at the request of the United States Attorney for
Massachusetts, Richard Boyton, Environmental Protection Agency’s Region
I, Technical Operations Section an 1 Donald Porteous, Technical Studies
Section, accompanied Philip Ripper, Massachusetts Division of Water
Pollution Control (MDWPC) on an unannounced visit to Marcal Paper Nili
in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The basic purpose of the visit was to
sample Marcal effluent and its effect on Stony Brook for possible en-
forcement action under the 1699 Refuse Act. (see figure 1 and table I)
Marcal Paper Mills, Inc .
At approximately 0830 hours the sampling crew met with Larry
Messier, plant manager. Mr. Ripper informed Mr. Messier that the visit
was a state function and EPA personnel were accompanying him. EPA
personnel informed Mr. Messier that the sampling was for possible en-
forcement action.
The plant uses i o paper machine lines • Line #1 employs treat-
ment of the white water waste while, at the time of sampling, line #2
had no such system in use. EPA personnel sampled the effluent from
lines #1 and #2, (MPO1 and MPO2 respectively), and the combined
effluent just prior to discharge to Stony Brook (NPO3). Thiring sampling
the heights of flow at the company’s 60° V-notch weir was rioted as
inches or approximately O.13S million gaflons per day (NGD).
Stony Brook
Stony Brook starts in Granby and flows through parts of Chicopee,

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Ludlow and South Hadley before discharging to the Connecticut River.
The Marcal Paper Mill in South Hadley discharges to Stony Brook about
two miles above the confluence with the Connecticut River. Stony Brook
was sampled above (NPOL4) and below (MPOS) this discharge. Due to the
back water from the high flows in the Connecticut River, the tracer dye
released at the plant did not reach the confluence during a two hour
period.
Sampling Procedures
Sample collection and analyses were according to standard EPA
procedures. The EPA chain of custody syste2n was used for identification
and handling of the samples.
The sampling crew made field readings for pH and temperature. The
pol.ychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) sample was sealed and shipped to Bay
St. Louis, Mississippi for analysis. The EPA Region I Laboratory at
Needhain, Massachusetts perfoz, ed the remaining analyses. A pre-.numbered
field data card was filled out for each station to record p11, temperature,
weather conditions, sampling locations, and analyses to be perfon1led.
Results and Conclusions
The results of the sampling analyses are summarized in Table 2.
The effluent from machine line #2 contained a high concentration
of suspended solids (725.5 mg/i) and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 )
(approximately 330 mg/i). The effluent from machine line #1, which
receives treatment, contained much lower concentrations of suspended solids
(1 .33 mg/i) and BOD 5 (12.5 mg/i).
The combined waste flow from the two lines contained relatively high
concentrations of suspended solids and BOD 5 due to the untreated discharge
from machine line #2. This combined waste contained approximately 360 pounds per da
-2—

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of suspended solids and approximately 270 pounds per day of BODS.
Stony Brook showed a marked increase in both suspended solids arid B0D
as it passed the Narcal plant. Suspended solids discharged from a paper mill
of this type include wood fibres plus miscellaneous particulate matter washed
into the discharge during norma]. operation. In the brook, the suspended
solids interfere with the normal light penetration and consequently photo-
synthesis activity. Some of the suspended solids settle out covering the
bottom with a layer of sludge affecting benthic organismsc and eliminating
potential food supplies for fish. In addition the organic solids which
settle out decompose causing an oxygen demand on the overlying waters.
The oxygen demand of the waste indicates the potential of the waste
for reducing the dissolved oxygen (Do) content of the receiving water.
Adequate DO levels are necessary to support fish and other clean water
organisms.
POB can cause skin disease8, cancer or birth deformities by entering
the food chain in unacceptable quantities. EPA suggested guidelines for
stream concentration of PCB’s is 0.01 parts per billion (PPB). The undiluted
combined effluent from Marcal contained 0.lS PPB of PCB t s or 15 to 1 dilution
of the effluent is necessary to meet the recommended guideline.
—3—

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TABLE 1
STATION DESCRIPTION
RIVER
STATION MILE LATITUDE LONGITUDE STATION DESCRIPTION
o P It o t
MPO1 2.5 1 2 114 53 72 314 149 Effluent from paper line #1 after treatment but before
combining with the effluent from line #2.
MPO2 2.5 1 2 15 53 72 314 149 Effluent from paper line #2 but before combining with
the effluent from line #1.
MPO3 2.5 142 15 53 72 314 149 Combined effluent from lines #1 & #2 just prior to
discharge to Stony Brook
MP 0 1 4 2.5 142 15 514 72 314 149 Stony Brook immediately upstream of the combined
discharge
+
.
MPOS 2.5 1 2 15 52 72 314 149 Stony Brook immediately downstream of the combined
discharge.

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SAMPLE ANALYSES
ABBREVIATIONS AND UNITS OF MEASURE
Turbidity
Dissolved Oxygen
s-day biochemical
oxygen demand,in-
cubated at 20°C
Total Solids
Total Suspended
solids
Inorganic suspended
solids
Total inorganic
solids
Polychioririated
biphenyls
Letters preceding a reported value denote the following:
J - estimated as, value not accurate
Description
Sample temperature
Analyses Reported
Temperature
pH
Turbidity
DO
BOD s-day
Measured In
Degrees centigrade
(°c)
Standard units (su)
Jackson candle
turbidity units (JTU)
Milligrams per liter
(mg/i)
mg/i
mg/i
mg/i
mg/i
parts per billion (ppb)
Total
Total
Fixed
Total
PCB
Residue
nonfilterable residue
Nonfilterable residue
fixed residue
-s-

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TABLE 2
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
MkRCAL PAPER COMPANY
SOUTH HADLEY, MASS.
0930
0935
0920
0950
1010
6.6
280 6.2
100. 6.6
3 6.8
6 7.1
RESIDUES (mg/i)
Total Total Total Fixed
Fixed Mflt. Nflt.
320 259.5 1.33 0.07
961j.l 251.1 725.5 56.2
556.2 233.3 325.L 29.5
106.5 65.2 3.8 1.0
115.0 66.9 9.1 7.6
STA.
#
DATE
E
Hrs.
LAB.CODE
//
DEPTH
Ft.
TEMP.
°C
DO BOD 5 TURBIDITY FIELD
Probe pH
MPO1
MPO2
Mi’03
MPOL
MPO S
72/06/08
72/06/08
72/06/08
72/06/08
72/06/08
29L 1 L O
-
12.5
29L L 1
-
J330
29)4 2
—
J2t O
29)4 3
0.5
16.5
9.6
1.1&
29LthL
1.0
17.0
9.8
5.2
PCB
0.15

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MPO3
IM POS
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