Abstract |
The Lackawanna Refuse site is located along a section of the north-south border between the Borough of Old Forge and Ransom Township, in Lackawanna County, PA. Five strip mine pits of five to six acres each were excavated in this area during the last century, and three were later used for waste disposal in the 1970's. One abandoned pit (Pit 5) contains about 15,000 buried drums of hazardous waste as well as municipal refuse. Pit 5 is approximately five acres and is estimated to be 30-50 feet deep. The pit has only a thin cover of soil above the waste. The contents of 20 drums were sampled and found to contain various solvents, paints and thinners, sludges, organic acids, and toxic metals. The selected remedial action includes: removal of all drums and highly contaminated municipal refuse from Pit 5 for disposal at a RCRA-regulated facility, clay capping (with gas venting systems) of Pits 2, 3, and 5, installation of surface water drainage diversion and construction of a leachate collection and treatment system for all three pits, removal and disposal of the top layer of contaminated soil from the bore hole pit and the access road, reconstruction of the road with appropriate drainage and sedimentation controls, and removal of the dried paint and contaminated soil in the paint spill area for off-site disposal of a RCRA-regulated facility. The estimated total project capital cost for these remedial actions is $8,200,000. |