FIRESTONE TIRE AND RJ3BER CO. POTTSTOWN,

SITE NO. 2FIRESTONE TIRE AND RJ3BER CO.POTTSTOWN, PENNSY.VANL-INTRODUCTIONFirestone Tire and Rubber Company owns a'nd operatesfacilities in Pottstown, Pennsylvania which produces finishedtires and plastic resins. Firestone began operations at thislocation in 1945 when they purchased the property from JacobsAircraft and Engine Company.In 1942 Jacobs Aircraft and Engine Company operated amachine shop for the production of sire reft engines. Duringthis time, they had dumped cutting c i l s and metal f i l i n g s onsite.Since 1945, Firestone has l a n d - i l l e d tires, inert clothand rubber, refinery wastes, pigments, zinc oxide, sulfurd i o x i d e scrubber wastes, rubber f l a s h i n g , and PVC sludge resins.Iron, manganese, a l u m i n u m , sulfatess and chlorides o r i g i n a t i n gfrom the l a n d f i l l and lagoons on the site have polluted theground water and surface water in the area.To remedy these water quality problems, Firestone hasestablished a ground water recovery system of wells which purgethe ground water near the lagoons and l a n d f i l l so that nooff-site migration of the ground water occurs.The amounts of contaminants in the ground water and surfacewater is now within health standards as the Company continuesto monitor the water quality in the area.iSITE DESCRIPTIONThe Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Pottstown Plant, islocated in southeastern Pennsylvania approximately 50 km(30 mi) north&aoifc of P h i l a d e l p h i a ir Montgomery County.2-1

Div: :oM Or SOLID AVAST; "0 71930The site occupies 100 ha (250 ac) w i t h i n a meander loop ofthe S c h u y l k i l l River. The water of the S c h u y l k i l l R i v e reventually reaches P h i l a d e l p h i a and the A t l a n t i c Ocean.Pottstown, a community of over 20,000 people l i e s a fewkilometers (miles) upstream from the Firestone Plant. Thereare no domestic wells located in the meander loop occupied byFirestone, but residents in the area do use the ground water.Firestone's old l a n d f i l l area is located 45 to 90 m (50 to100 yd) from the S c h u y l k i l l River. Both the new l a n d f i l l areaand the lagoons lie a few hundred meters (yards) from theSchuylkill River (see Figures 2-1 and 2-2).The Schuylkill River i's 0.6,to 1.5 m (2 to 4 ft) deep and15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) w i d e (depending on seasonal variations)at the Firestone site. The site occupies 100 ha (250 ac)within a 1 .5 km (1 m*i) meander loop and is fairly flat with asmall valley that will be f i l l e d in with the expansion of the l a n d f i l l . The l a n d f i l l itself is flat and possesses 45 degreebanks. The S c h u y l k i l l R i v e r is 33 m (110 ft) above sea level,the top of the landfill is 45 m (150 ft) above sea level andthe bottom of the l a n d f i l l is 35 m (120 ft) above sea l e v e l . Theriver's 100 year frequency flood raises its level 10 m (30 ft)which floods the botcom of the l a n d f i l l . This has occurredthree times in recent years. The S c h u y l k i l l River eventuallyflows to Philadelphia and the Delaware River. The river servesboth industry and people.The subsurface consists of two distinct materials.A l l u v i u m , 6 to 7.5 ra (20 to 25 ft) thick, lies at the surfaceand consists of thin layers of s i l t , sand, or gravel. The watertable levels in this material correlates closely with the riverstage. There is l i t t l e hydraulic gradient in this, the upper,or shallow flow system. The landfill and lagoons lie in thismaterial.Underlying the a l l u v i u m are the Lockatong Formation, amudstone and shale, and the Brunswick Formation, a shale,siltstone, and sandstone. The bedrock is not horizontal but2-2'

DIVISION "' \0'.'D WASTEr; 7THIS AREA BOTTOM UkNOSCATTERED TREES 8 THICK BRUSHFigure 2-1. ,Partial map of the Firestone facilityin Pottstown, PA:2-3!?80

RECEIVEDDIViS1.'"-: " "-SC'JO WASTELANDFILLSSCALE! I '.2.4000MAIN PLANT.'PENNSYL'ANIA\Figure 2-2. Site location of Firestone Tire and Rubber CompanyPottstown, PA.28R 1002,23 j

dips approximately 30 degrees to the southeast (see Figure 2-3and 2-4). Ground water in this, tha lower or deep flow system,occurs along joints and bedding planes of the Brunswick Formation.The deep wells used for process water and potable water extenddown through this system. There is some communication orrecharge from the shallow ground water to the deep ground water.Therefore, the Schuylkill River, the a l l u v i u m aquifer, and thebedrock aquifer are not independent of each other.The area around Firestone is h i l l y and well drained.Elevations range from 33 m (110 ft) to over 90 m (300 ft) asseen in Figure 2-4.The vegetation on the Firestone site consists of grassesand some hardwood trees. The trees grow along the river banksand in the small valley. Native gress has been planted on thel a n d f i l l and other areas disturbed by pan.Pottstown receives about 100 cm (43 in.) per year ofprecipitation. Approximately 81 cm (32 in.) of snow falls peryear. Therefore, most of the precipitation falls as rain whichis spread out fairly evenly year round. No frost can beexpected from early April to late October. The winds average15 km/hr (9.3 mph) from the west. The temperature averagesabout 10 C (51 F) year round with a surmer average of about22 C (72 F) and a winter average of about -3 C (26 F).SITE OPERATIONS AND HISTORYAt Pottstown, Firestone operates both a tire manufacturingplant and a chemical plant which produces plastic resins. Theyare proceeding with plans to close their tire plant. However,the chemical plant w i l l remain in operation'.Firestone employs nearly 2,400 people to produce 450,000 kg(1 m i l l i o n Ibs) of finished tires per day. Both the number ofemployees and the amount of tires produced have been decliningas closure continued. Manufacturing of tires is a labor-2-5

RECEIVEDDivis.'-' so:.:n WASTEAUG 7E0193 EinUJCOoOJ/ /GO'//O)J - o -p .E CO /CO tg,COUJcc O 03O) O)OO EO UJ/' )- Q.OtrLU0./to 4- to t/)COO OJS- So r- OJCCOcr -co 4- O CDCD E-J CO 3 (1)o -aQC C3COI DCDftR100225

l;:&-:%LOCKATONG FORMATIONMUDSTONE AND SHALEFigure 2-4. Location and par.ial geologic map forFirestone's Pottstown, Pennsylvania plant.2-7R8IOQ226

DIVISION CF SOLID WASTE- Anr; 7'930 " ii n t e n s i v e process. There are approximately 600 people employedin Firestone's chemical plant.Both the tire and the chemical plant contribute to thel a n d f i l l . In early 1971, an average of 36 metric tons (33tons) of refuse v/as l a n d f i l l e d per day. The majority of refusewas factory trash and paper. The following is a l i s t of typicall a n d f i l l refuse: Tirest Refining Waste0 Paper Carbon Black Polyethylenet Miscellaneous Compounding Agents or Dustfrom Cleanups (ineludes sulfur andzinc oxides) t 0 0§Inert Cloth and RubberRubber FlashingOily RagsPolyvinyl C h l o r i d e (PVC) filmClayTalcD -;i tn „ n B o i l e r Fly AshSynthetic Polymer FabricWooden Pallets00Oil/Water Emulsions«00 "yrene Latex CoaguUntSulfur Dioxide S l u d g eFloor and Roadway SweepingsFiber DrumsLagoon wastes( llttnill "IciuShydroxide, and PVCresin'SludgeTreatment0Metal Banding andStrappingsThe 1 a n d f i 1 1 " a l s o received vinyl c h l o r i d e sludges from theirseepage lagoons. An outside contractor works full time to disposeof the wastes. This system is estimated to cost only half theprice as that which would be incurred in d i s p o s i n g the wastesoff-site.Two lagoons are used by the chemical plant. They are linedand the sludge is removed to the l a n d f i l l . Wastewater is theonly material added to the lagoons.Firestone also has a demonstration p l a n t for the removal ofsulfur d i o x i d e and fly ash from the exhaust gas of boilersfired either with high sulfur oil or coal. They also are2-8ft?

RECETVErClYIS,'f::V r.- 5;:L!D y//,:.'lG 71980p a r t i c i p a t i n g in a project to l a n d f i l l the waste s l u d g e (calcium sulfite dihydrate and sodium sulfate) that results fromthe scrubbing plant. The demonstration p l a n t was designed toprocess approximately 12 m i l l i o n m per m i n u t e (10,000 acre-feetper minute) of exhaust gas from either of two 30 m i l l i o n kgcalories per hour (120 m i l l i o n BT'J per hour) i n d u s t r i a l boilers.They can be fired with oil or coal. A h i g h sulfur oil (2.0 to2.5 percent) is used for testing. The removal plant operatestwenty-four hours per day, five days per week.The plant consists basically of two operations:1.2.A scrubbing l o o p where the sulfur l a d e n stack gasis contacted with the scrubbing solution in aventuri scrubber.A regeneration system where sulfur is removed as asludge from the solution by precipitation and thenthe scrubbing solution regenerated for re-use.In 1942 Jacobs Aircraft E n g i n e Company operated a machineshop and defense plant for the production of aircraft enginesas part of the war effort. Cutting oil wastes, metal f i l i n g s ,I!etc. were placed in an open dump on the site.F i restone' Tire and Rubber Company bought the pliant in 1945and began tire production soon afterwards. They continued theuse of the open dump through the early 1960's converting it toa l a n d f i l l accepting vinyl resins, factory trash, rubber (tires,etc.), etc. The l a n d f i l l was originally 5 ha (13 ac) in size.They also used seepage lagoons for their PVC waste. They usedthree deep wells in the early 1960's to supply water forprocess uses.iPOLLUTIONAt first, the l a n d f i l l and lagoon operations were consideredenvironmentally adequate by the Pennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Resources. Subsequent monitoring of wells and2-9

RECEIVEDIV!S!OV' :: ' 'n v/j»3'i'.'G 7!S30the S c h u y l k i l l River- i diiated the contamination. The f o l l o w i n gcontaminants and their concentrations were detected in theground water in 1972 by placing m o n i t o r i n g wells around thelandfill:t185 ppm ir:n920 ppm manganeset10 ppm a Km in urn 140 ppm suifatesBecause of the interconnection of aquifers and the SchuylkillRiver, there was a threat of pollution to both the deep aquiferand the S c h u y l k i l l -.iver.The l a n d f i l l w s accepting nearly 27 metric tons (30 tons)of refuse per day in 1970. Firestone applied for a new permitto operate a sanitary landfill in 1970. The permit was grantedin July 1971, but it was withheld until August 1973 because ofpermit infractions end revisions. It was the first i n d u s t r i a lland disposal permit issued by the State's Division of SolidWaste Management.Firestone received a variance for a pilot plant process toremove sulfur dioxice and fly ash from the boiler stacks. Theyalso received permission to l a n d f i l l the washes from th" sulfurdioxideprocesst scrubber system in late 1973. Wastes from the scrubberincluded:Calc'ium Sulfite DihydrateLime Residues Fly Ash Sodium SulfcieFrom the seepage lacaons the sludge was mixed with dirt andlandfilled. Operati:ns using the scrubber system began inFebruary 1975. This was an experimental one-year operation incooperation with the State. A permit for continued operationof the scrubber processing and disposal facility was granted inSeptember 1977.2-10ftBi00229