2.8. Pilot Project: Development of technology for cleaning up the Arctic decommissioned sites of the Russian Ministry of Defense from hazardous waste as demonstrated on Alexandra Island of Franz Josef Land Archipelago

 

The Project Goal was to gain the technology application experience to be replicated at other decommissioned facilities and on sites of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Under the Project implementation it was necessary to select and test modern technologies for the utilization of drums in the arctic context by using innovative solutions for a large amount of drums (up to 1,000) of different years of manufacture and with different contents. Foreseeing the presence of PCB sources and heavy metal pollution on the island, it was necessary to identify and map such sources, select samples of soils and technical liquids to be found in the process equipment. The desk study was to be carried out to assess the real threat of environmental pollution and to propose methods for containment or liquidation of the pollution sources.

The Project was implemented by the non-profit organization "Polar Research Foundation (NO "Polar Foundation”) which took into account the results of similar works carried out on Franz-Josef Land in 2007-2009.

The Project Implementation Period:            01 December 2009 - 30 November 2010

The Project Activities

Stage I: Identifying and mapping sources of hazardous pollutions. Taking and analyzing samples to better locate the pollution sources.

    1. Based on the 2007 data, selecting the cleanup site and developing the program for additional assessment of the contamination levels of the soils and process fluids on the sites selected;
    2.  Identifying and mapping the hazardous pollution sources on the Alexandra Land sites selected for the cleanup activities including sampling of soils and process fluids; locating capacitor assemblies and transformers with “sovtol” or other PCB-containing fillers within the radar equipment;
    3. Carrying out chemical and analytical analysis of the soil and process fluids samples with a special focus on the determination of surfactants, heavy metals, and chlorine organic compounds;
    4. Processing the results of the field works and sample analysis in the office; plotting the scale 1:1000 map for various areas to justify the selection of the experimental site;

Stage II: Developing the Technology and Procuring Equipment

    1. Reviewing the existing domestic and foreign experience in cleaning up the sites of abandoned military facilities from drums with residual lubricants, fuels, PCB; preparing design documents;
    2.  Selecting the technological cycle for drum utilization and carrying out preliminary manufacturer’s testing of the equipment by using drums before shipping the equipment to Franz-Josef Land Archipelago; developing the technological project for (i) a large-scale utilization of drums containing highly hazardous substances; (ii) safe elimination of the contents, and (iii) compacting of the drums and shipping them to the reception facility in Archangelsk;
    3. Developing the process design for handling heavy metals containing wastes, process equipment and its components;
    4. Developing the process design for the conservation of equipment with sovtol and other PCB-containing fluids;
    5. Procuring and testing the required process equipment;
    6. Initiating and preparing the personnel including training for hazardous substances handling; safety briefings;
    7. Obtaining the required permits from the corresponding authorities for sea carriage of the drums and their storage in Archangelsk, signing agreements with enterprises that committed to accept the compacted drums for their safe utilization;
    8. Preparing the work programs for Stage III of the Project;

Stage III: Eliminating or Conserving the Sources of Highly Hazardous Pollutants


Figure 20. Installing Fuel Burnout Furnace and Steel Drum Compacting Press
    1. Delivering the equipment and personnel to the work site, mobilizing the equipment and preparing it for work, carrying out the required civil engineering works;
    2. Collecting drums with residual fuel and lubricants from the selected area; taking the drums to the cleaning site and cleaning the drums; draining the residual fuel and lubricants into the specially prepared tanks; where required, thawing up the drums by applying the technology specially developed for the purpose; testing various technologies for the final cleansing of the drums from the residual fuels and lubricants (flushing, burning out, etc.); cleansing the drums from the residual fuels, lubricants and hazardous pollutants by applying the selected technologies and controlling hazardous emissions; cutting and compacting empty drums (not less than 1,000 drums); packing the pressed drums and preparing them for transportation;
Fig.21
Figure 16. Shipwrecks in Tiksi Bay
    1. Taking the pressed drums to the vessel, and transferring them an Archangelsk recycler to for safe utilization;
    2. Experimental mothballing of the PCB-containing equipment;
    3. Experimental conservation of the heavy metal containing waste;
    4. Taking samples at the work site to analyze them for soil and water contamination levels and to monitor concentration patterns over time;
    5. Developing TOR for surveys and preparation of the Project for large-scale cleanup of the decommissioned sites of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Alexandra Island within the Franz Josef Land Archipelago;
    6. Preparing the concluding report in Russian and English with a detailed description of the full technological cycle concerning drum utilization and all the other completed works supported by recommendations for cleaning up the Franz-Josef Land Archipelago from drums and for neutralizing waste containing PCB, heavy metals and oil products;

The Project Outcomes

The Project resulted in a package of proposals for a large-scale project to carry out complete cleanup of Alexandra’s Island from empty drums and abandoned military equipment in accordance with a variety of options.

The Pilot Project developed and tested a technology for cleaning up polluted areas in the high Arctic from hazardous wastes as demonstrated by the works carried out on the experimental site located within the abandoned military facility of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Alexandra’s Island.

During Stage I of the Pilot Project, works were carried out to additionally study the contaminated sections of the Alexandra’s Island of the Franz-Josef Land Archipelago aimed at selecting an experimental work site. Out of five areas surveyed, a section of the fuel and lubricants storage located in Severnaya Bay was selected as an experimental cleanup site. The additional survey found drums with motor oil and residual waste fluid containing 2-4 percent of PCB. This was a proof of the 2007 assumption that the island had a permanent PCB pollution source requiring a lot of caution in the carrying out of the works under the Pilot Project.

Fig.22
Figure 22. Testing Motor Oil Drums for PCB

At Stage II of the Pilot Project, a process design was prepared for (i) large-scale utilization of the drums containing highly hazardous substances; (ii) safe elimination of the contents, and (iii) compacting of the drums and shipping them to the reception facility in Archangelsk. In accordance with the Project, a work program was prepared to ensure implementation of Stage III of the Pilot Project, and the needed equipment, components and consumables were procured.

In accordance with the Contractor’s request, Tochnaya Mechanika Works – based on the experience of the 2007 activities – upgraded a 26-t TM-22TPF hydraulic press and successfully tested the compacting of thick wall steel drums with walls 1.5 mm thick.

The field team took training in hazardous waste training at ANO “Center for Training and Design Concerning Industrial Waste Handling”. During the field works, they delivered safety briefing to the technical personnel of the field team and supervised their operations. 

Stage III of the Pilot Project implemented experimental utilization of a large quantity of 200 l fuel and lubricant drums of different ages that were stored without any control within the abandoned military facility of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Alexandra’s Island.

The procured equipment was delivered on the archipelago on board of the Michael Somov Research Vessel and installed on the work site near the fuel and lubricant storage in Severnaya Bay. A MI-8T helicopter was used for this purpose.

Fig.23
Figure 23. Fuel Drums Pressed and Prepared for Transportation

Stage III cleansed and compacted 1,000 steel drums (200 l drums) of different ages including 87 drums with residual kerosene and 78 drums with residual diesel fuel.

The process schemes applied turned out to be rather effective. Within a rather short period of time, the lean field team managed to select, drain, remove the residual fuel and lubricants, compact them with the hydraulic press and take to the mainland 1,000 fuel and lubricant drums, therefore having launched the actual cleanup of the archipelago.

The accompanying measurements of the air contamination levels showed that the high temperature burning out of the residual fuel and lubricants from the drums by using Fakel-1M burners generated little pollution of the surrounding environment. At the same time, the drums were completely cleaned from the residual fuel and lubricants.

The Pilot Project works showed that this technology, which was developed and implemented under the Project, could serve as a good basis for large-scale disposal of hydrocarbon pollution sources in the Franz-Josef Land Archipelago provided the process modification proposals have been taken into account. The technology could also be further used in other regions of the high Arctic.

A special focus should be on fluids containing highly hazardous substances, in particular PCB. It is unlikely, that in the high Arctic, it would be possible to establish a certified PCB destruction facility. According to NO “Polar Foundation”, the best option would be to develop and use plants that bring down a hazard class of wastes in order to transport them to the mainland for utilization.

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