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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Spent oil shale disposal (research and development): EPA's efforts

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7148440
Field studies conducted by the EPA on course-textured US Bureau of Mines and fine-textured Oil Shale Corp. (TOSCO) spent oil shale (started in 1973) and on Paraho Development Corp. direct-heated spent oil shale (started in 1975) provided data surface stability and salt movement in spent shales and spent shales covered with soil after vegetation had been established and then left under natural precipitation conditions. Problems encountered in establishing a vegetative cover included inadequate leaching prior to planting, resalinization upward into the soil cover over the fine textured TOSCO spent shales, and the initial high pH of the Paraho spent shales. Vegetation from the revegetated plots showed higher levels of some trace elements than vegetation grown on native soil. Runoff from all plots was moderately to highly saline though sediment yields were generally low. Data on water movement through compacted Paraho spent shale indicate that it may be more difficult to make the spent shale impermeable than previously reported.
OSTI ID:
7148440
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English