Remediating MGP brownfields
Before natural gas pipelines became widespread in this country, gas fuel was produced locally in more than 5,000 manufactured gas plants (MGPs). The toxic wastes from these processes often were disposed onsite and have since seeped into the surrounding soil and groundwater. Although the MGPs--commonly called gas plants, gas-works or town gas plants--have closed and most have been demolished, they have left a legacy of environmental contamination. At many MGP sites, underground storage tanks were constructed of wood or brick, with process piping and equipment which frequently leaked. Waste materials often were disposed onsite. Releases of coal tars, oils and condensates produced within the plants contributed to a wide range of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, benzene and cyanide. Remediation of selected MGP sites has been sporadic. Unless the site has been identified as a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) Superfund site, the regulatory initiative to remediate often remains with the state in which the MGP is located. A number of factors are working to change that picture and to create a renewed interest in MGP site remediation. The recent Brownfield Initiative by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is such an example.
- OSTI ID:
- 509250
- Journal Information:
- Pollution Engineering, Vol. 29, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: May 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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