A waste pond or chemical pond is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of

water pollutant Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

s, and sometimes utilized as a method of

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

or decomposing

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

substances. Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of pollutant materials or may be used as upset receivers for special pollution events. Often, chemical ponds themselves are addressed for cleanup action after their useful life is over or when a risk of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

contamination arises. Peak usage of waste ponds in the United States occurred in the period 1955 to 1985, after which the environmental risks of pond technology were sufficiently understood, such that alternative technologies for waste disposal gradually began to displace many of the waste ponds. Waste ponds often have pond liners, such as

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

or robust synthetic

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

ic materials, to prevent infiltration of

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

s to soil or groundwater.

Examples

Piscataway chemical pond

One example of a chemical pond is situated in the woods of Piscataway, New Jersey. It was used by

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befo ...

during the active phase of plant operation. Its main use was for drainage of chemicals. Hazardous and exotic chemicals would go down drains in the plant to the pond and later be pumped back to the factory via two large pumps. There it would be distilled to remove

acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour. Acetone is miscib ...

and other hazardous chemicals from the mix. This process was overall harmful to the environment and polluted the

Oak Ridge waste pond

The United States

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research an ...

operated for more than 50 years, performing research and production at its facility in the Melton Valley area of the Oak Ridge Reservation, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, before it was decommissioned in the mid 1960s. One of the results of this activity was a waste pond, which was contaminated with

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

waste including

strontium-90 Strontium-90 () is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and ...

caesium-137 Caesium-137 (), cesium-137 (US), or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium that is formed as one of the more common fission products by the nuclear fission of uranium-235 and other fissionable isotopes in nuclear reactors and nucle ...

;

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of ...

, and transuranics. During the 1970s, the pond was backfilled with

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and shale, and finally capped with

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

. In the mid 1990s, as a temporary solution to concerns that soil and sediments could migrate into nearby streams and, ultimately, reservoirs used for recreation and

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

supplies,

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

officials installed a cryogenic stabilization system at the waste pond, freezing the soil and groundwater to a depth of approximately around the pond, thereby forming a barrier to groundwater leaching. In February 2004, the cryogenic system was dismantled, replaced with a temporary thermal foam blanket to keep the soil cold, and the pond was excavated. The soil in the areas surrounding the frozen pond contained lower levels of contamination than the pond itself, but enough contamination that it had to be removed. Approximately of soil were removed from the surrounding areas. Another of soil were excavated from the pond itself.Gwenyth Laird Pernie, ''Crew Takes on Chemical Pond'', Construction Equipment Guide (2005)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waste Pond Environmental technology Ponds Water pollution

Examples

Piscataway chemical pond

Oak Ridge waste pond

See also

References