paper plant effluent revisited-southern lake champlain, vermont and new york

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Environmental Geology (1993) 21:77-83 Springer-Verlag 1993 R. S. Haupt - D. W. Folger Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York Received: 23 January 1992 / Revision received:4 February 1992 Abstract We used geologic and geochemical techniques to document the change with time of the distribution and concentration of contaminated bottom sediments in southern Lake Champlain near an International Paper Company plant. Our work, initiated in 1972, was expanded on behalf of Vermont citizens in a class-action suit against the International Paper Company. To update our 1972- 1973 results, we collected nine cores in 1988 upstream and downstream from the paper plant effluent diffuser. Water content, volatile solids, organic carbon, and three ratios, A1/Si, C1/Si, and S/Si, in addition to megascopic and micro- scopic observations, were evaluated to identify and trace the distribution of effluent and to measure the thickness of sediment affected by or containing components of effluent. Analyses were carried out on samples from the cores as well as from effluent collected directly from the plant's waste treatment facility. In 1973, two years after the plant opened, we cored near the diffuser; sediment contaminated with effluent was 4.5 cm thick. In 1988, in the same area, sediment contaminated with effluent was 17 cm thick. In 15 years, water content increased from 72 to 85 percent, volatile solids from 7 to 20 percent, and organic carbon from 2 to 12 percent. C1/Si and S/Si were high only near the diffuser and were zero elsewhere. In the area of the diffuser, contaminated sediment appears to be accumulat- ing at a rate of about 1 cm/yr. At a control location 22 km upstream (south) from the plant, the top, poorly consoli- dated layer was only 1 cm or less thick both in 1973 and in 1988. The class-action suit was settled in favor of the plaintiffs for $5 million. Key words Effluent--Paper plant--Lake Champlain R. S. Haupt Vermont Agency of Transportation, Materials and Research Divi- sion, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, U.S.A. D. W. Folger U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Correspondence to: D. W. Folger Background Mason and others (1977) reported on the concentrations and distribution of materials in the water column and on the bottom of southern Lake Champlain that were derived from a new (1971) International Paper Company (IPC) plant located 5 km north of Ticonderoga, New York. Much of that study was conducted as a result of a suit filed by the State of Vermont against IPC for polluting the Ver- mont side of the lake and against the State of New York for not preventing the discharge. Mason and others (1977), and data from a hitherto unpublished Vermont Highway Department report on cores that we collected in 1973, showed that significant quantitites of effluent from the new plant were accumulating on the bottom of southern Lake Champlain. In 1987, we were asked (the junior author, as a federal employee, was subpoenaed), by the law firm representing the plaintiffs in a class action suit, Ouellette vs Interna- tional Paper Company to present our 1970s data again. The plaintiffs, a group of Vermont citizens living on the eastern shore of southern Lake Champlain, alleged that their prop- erty values had been adversely affected by discharges from the IPC plant into the air and into the waters of the lake. The law firm representing the plaintiffs first had to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that a private nuisance action is not preempted by the Federal Clean Air and Water Acts, the position taken by the defendant. The court affirmed a 2rid Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the plaintiffs in this case could seek redress in a private nui- sance action in Federal Court in Vermont. This process, and pretrial discovery, took over ten years before the case was finally ready for trial and settlement resulted. With the exception of confidential studies funded by IPC, little if any study of the effluent, to our knowledge, had been done in the southern part of the lake during that period. Because our data were 15 years old, and because IPC had augmented its facility with tertiary treatment in 1979 subsequent to our studies, we collected and analyzed a new

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Page 1: Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York

Environmental Geology (1993) 21:77-83 �9 Springer-Verlag 1993

R. S. Haupt - D. W. Folger

Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York

Received: 23 January 1992 / Revision received: 4 February 1992

Abstract We used geologic and geochemical techniques to document the change with time of the distribution and concentration of contaminated bottom sediments in southern Lake Champlain near an International Paper Company plant. Our work, initiated in 1972, was expanded on behalf of Vermont citizens in a class-action suit against the International Paper Company. To update our 1972- 1973 results, we collected nine cores in 1988 upstream and downstream from the paper plant effluent diffuser. Water content, volatile solids, organic carbon, and three ratios, A1/Si, C1/Si, and S/Si, in addition to megascopic and micro- scopic observations, were evaluated to identify and trace the distribution of effluent and to measure the thickness of sediment affected by or containing components of effluent. Analyses were carried out on samples from the cores as well as from effluent collected directly from the plant's waste treatment facility. In 1973, two years after the plant opened, we cored near the diffuser; sediment contaminated with effluent was 4.5 cm thick. In 1988, in the same area, sediment contaminated with effluent was 17 cm thick. In 15 years, water content increased from 72 to 85 percent, volatile solids from 7 to 20 percent, and organic carbon from 2 to 12 percent. C1/Si and S/Si were high only near the diffuser and were zero elsewhere. In the area of the diffuser, contaminated sediment appears to be accumulat- ing at a rate of about 1 cm/yr. At a control location 22 km upstream (south) from the plant, the top, poorly consoli- dated layer was only 1 cm or less thick both in 1973 and in 1988. The class-action suit was settled in favor of the plaintiffs for $5 million.

Key words Eff luent--Paper p l an t - -Lake Champlain

R. S. Haupt Vermont Agency of Transportation, Materials and Research Divi- sion, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, U.S.A.

D. W. Folger U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A.

Correspondence to: D. W. Folger

Background

Mason and others (1977) reported on the concentrations and distribution of materials in the water column and on the bottom of southern Lake Champlain that were derived from a new (1971) International Paper Company (IPC) plant located 5 km north of Ticonderoga, New York. Much of that study was conducted as a result of a suit filed by the State of Vermont against IPC for polluting the Ver- mont side of the lake and against the State of New York for not preventing the discharge. Mason and others (1977), and data from a hitherto unpublished Vermont Highway Department report on cores that we collected in 1973, showed that significant quantitites of effluent from the new plant were accumulating on the bottom of southern Lake Champlain.

In 1987, we were asked (the junior author, as a federal employee, was subpoenaed), by the law firm representing the plaintiffs in a class action suit, Ouellette vs Interna- tional Paper Company to present our 1970s data again. The plaintiffs, a group of Vermont citizens living on the eastern shore of southern Lake Champlain, alleged that their prop- erty values had been adversely affected by discharges from the IPC plant into the air and into the waters of the lake. The law firm representing the plaintiffs first had to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that a private nuisance action is not preempted by the Federal Clean Air and Water Acts, the position taken by the defendant. The court affirmed a 2rid Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the plaintiffs in this case could seek redress in a private nui- sance action in Federal Court in Vermont. This process, and pretrial discovery, took over ten years before the case was finally ready for trial and settlement resulted. With the exception of confidential studies funded by IPC, little if any study of the effluent, to our knowledge, had been done in the southern part of the lake during that period.

Because our data were 15 years old, and because IPC had augmented its facility with tertiary treatment in 1979 subsequent to our studies, we collected and analyzed a new

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Table 1. Thickness of and components in the upper layer of sediment cored between Stony Point and the Crown Point Bridge in 1973 and 1988"

Depth (m) (corr. to Distance from Thickness Water 28.38 m Stony Point, toplayer content Vol. solids Total org. C

Station datum) VT (km) Date Core (cm) (~ wet. wt.) (~o dry wt.) (~o dry wt.) A1/Si C1/Si S/Si

1 3.3 0 1973 040, 041 0.75 76.80 7.85 1.03 1 5.1 0 1988 001 1.0 75.98 8.21 0.15 2 3.3 22.39 1973 018, 019 2.3 71.70 7.16 2.09

5.1 22.39 1973 020, 021 2.5 65.40 6.34 1.53 =2.4 X=68.55 X=6.75 .~=1.81

3 4.6 22.54 1988 008 3.0 73.92 8.01 1.51 65.60 7.44 1.19

= 69.76 X = 7.73 X = 1.35

4 5.3 22.58 1973 016, 017 3.0 5 4.0 22.60 1988 009 17.0

6 4.3 22.74 1973 022, 023 3.8 7 5.6 22.88 1973 024, 025 4.5 8 5.4 22.98 1988 002 10.0

9 6.9 24.01 1973 014, 015 6.0 9 4.9 24.01 1988 003 4.5

10 5.7 25.81 1988 006 3.9

11 8.0 26.61 1973 010, 011 1.5 12 3.8 32.41 1973 038, 039 1.3 13 7.2 34.61 1988 007 3.7

71.90 7.15 2.19 88.80 19.94 9.79 89.64 22.29 16.62 91.59 31.10 13.17 89.47 25.52 9.91 86.20 22.10 X = 12.37 84.15 18.81 83.35 19.22 82.61 17.74 79.92 15.85 71.57 11.74 84.73 X = 20.43 69.60 7.07 1.99 67.1 6.65 1.74 78.54 11.08 2.83 76.25 10.89 3.95 74.79 11.85 5.82 73.42 10.66 .,Y = 4.20 67.32 9.02 74.06 X = 10.70 70.0 6.76 1.77 75.42 8.70 1.91 72.17 8.05 2.32 73.80 _Y = 8.38 X = 2.12

81.23 8.17 1.65 72.16 8.29 2.59 72.47 8.02 X = 2.12 75.29 ~ = 8.16 58.0 4.58 1.66 73.1 6.02 1.42 79.41 8.86 2.29 75.50 8.22 2.95 71.87 7.15 2.07 75.59 X = 8.08 X = 2.44

m _ _ _ _

0.176 0 0

0.196 0.0 0.0 0.202 0.0 0.017 0.136 0.0 0.0

= 0.178 _Y = 0.006

0.251 0.018 0.020 0.209 0.014 0.010 0.049 0.0 0.0 0.452 0.076 0.061 0.236 0.0 0.0 0.168 0.014 0.017 0.182 0.019 0.015 0.311 0.073 0.064 0.284 0.027 0.066 0.200 0.0 0.007

_~ = 0.234 X = 0.024 X" = 0.026

0.185 0.009 0.0 0.240 0.007 0.0 0.147 0.0 0.0 0.187 0.0 0.0 0.206 0.0 0.011

= 0.193 X = 0.003 X = 0.002

0.19 0.0 0.0 0.21 0.0 0.004 0.19 0.0 0.0

= 0.197 X = 0.001 0.21 0.0 0.0 0.21 0.0 0.0 0.18 0.0 0.0

= 0.20

0.167 0.0 0.0 0.166 0.0 0.0 0.182 0.0 0.0

.-Y = 0.172

a Where more than one sample was analyzed, averages (.,V) of data are plotted in Fig. 1. Dashes indicate no data

set of samples to compare to the da ta collected in 1973. This paper presents bo th our new 1988 core data and, for the first time, the 1973 core data (Table 1).

Purpose

The purpose of the 1988 study was to establish if effluent f rom the new plant was still measurab ly affecting the vol- ume and compos i t ion of sediment accumula t ing on the

lake bot tom. Because of l imited funds, manpower , and t ime available before the case was to be tried, we were unable to collect and analyze sediment t rap samples near the diffuser to compare with the extensive data set that we acquired in the early 1970s (Mason and others 1977). How- ever, we were able to collect cores and compare several of

the same characterist ics of the sediments that were mea- sured in cores collected during April and May 1973. The procedures for collecting and processing the cores were identical. However , the use of a scanning electron micro- scope (SEM) in 1988-1989 al lowed us to evaluate several o ther components , including A1/Si, C1/Si, and S/Si.

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Methods

On 9 September 1988, aboard Middlebury College's R/V Baldwin, the senior author used Scuba gear to collect nine cores at eight sites by pushing 6.35-cm-ID plastic tubes 50-70 cm into the bottom. The cutting edge of the 0.32-cm-thick tubing was beveled to facilitate bottom pene- tration. The upper end of each tube was capped before it was retrieved from the bottom to prevent loss of sediment, and the cutting end was capped as soon as it was aboard the vessel. The core was then stored and transported in a vertical position. We located the position of each core site with a sextant and three-arm protractor. Exactly the same procedure was used in 1973, except that core sites were located with a laser theodolite.

In the laboratory, cores were extruded, described, and photographed. Samples were placed in preweighed sterile containers. Each sample was dried to determine its water content. Volatile solids were measured by using the Ameri- can Public Health Association 224 G technique (APHA 1971), and total organic carbon was measured by using the Laboratory Equipment Corporation (LECO) combustion technique (LECO 1959).1

In the 1973 cores organic carbon was analyzed by using a modified Walkeley-Black technique, which produces similar results to those obtained with the LECO technique (Gaudette and others 1974).

The thickness of the top layer of sediment was deter- mined on the basis of visual and microscopic observations and on components measured in the samples that included

1 Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or by the Vermont Agency of Transportation

water content, volatile solids, and organic carbon, and ratios of A1/Si, C1/Si, and S/Si. In cores collected in 1973, the only ratio we measured was kaolinite/chlorite. Due to lack of time we were unable to make a similar set of measurements in 1988. Thus, the two data sets have four measurements (visual/microscopic, water content, volatile solids, and organic carbon) in common.

We selected the above six parameters for the 1988 study because most could be measured quickly and all gave us information on the distribution of paper plant effluents or the effects of effluent on the sediments. Water content, for example, is a function of particle size, composition, and consolidation; volatile solids and organic carbon reflect the input of combustibles, in this case, wood fibers; aluminum, although a common constituent of natural silicates, is added in kaolinite (a filler) and in alum (a flocculent); sulfur, in sodium sulfate, is used in the pulping process; and chlo- rine is used as a bleach (see Casey 1960 for details of the Kraft process). In our studies described in Mason and others (1977), we measured anatase (TiO2, a paper whit- ener) to trace effluent. However, in 1988, we did not have the time or resources to conduct a comparable set of mea- surements for anatase.

In 1973, duplicate cores, one for water and volatile solids and the other for organic carbon, were analyzed at each station. In 1988, a duplicate core was collected at only one station for display in court, not analysis. For cores in which the thickness of the top layer permitted us to take multiple subsamples, a mean value was calculated (see Table 1 and Fig. 2).

On 27 February 1989, we sampled effluent from a mix- ing chamber where outlet effluents from the IPC plant are combined before discharge into the diffuser pipe. Samples were collected every hour and combined into a composite sample representing an 8-h period. The total volume of

0 cm

20

30

40

50

60

STA 3,CORE 008 STA. 5,CORE 009 STA. 8, CORE 002 WATER VOLATILE ORGANIC WATER VOLATILE ORGANIC WATER VOLATILE ORGANIC

SOLIDS C SOLIDS C SOLIDS C 50 60 70/0 3 6 9 2. 60 70 80 90 0 I0 20 30/0 4 8 12 [6 50 60 70 80/0 3 6 9 12 0 2 4 6

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Fig. 1. Water content (% wet weight), volatile solids (% dry weight), and organic carbon (% dry weight) in three cores collected in 1988 that are located close to the IPC diffuser. The top layer in each core was defined on the basis of these and other parameters including megascopic and microscopic observations. See Figure 2 for locations

Page 4: Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York

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fluid filtered was 168 1. On 6 April 1989, we collected 49 1 of water near the intake pipe of the processing plant, 3.6 km upstream (south) from the diffuser.

We filtered the intake and effluent water samples through a series of Micron Separations, Inc., filters having pore sizes of 5.0, 1.2, 0.8, 0.45, and 0.1 lam to isolate sus- pended matter. The water that passed through the filters was evaporated to recover the dissolved solids. Organic carbon was measured in filtrate from the effluent but not in filtrate from the intake because the total volume of material recovered was too small.

Samples of bot tom sediment, suspended matter, and dissolved solids from the effluent were examined with a polarizing light microscope and an SEM with a microtrace x-ray analyzer. The ratios A1/Si, C1/Si, and S/Si were calcu-

lated from measurements obtained with the microtrace x-ray analyzer.

Results

In the area of the diffuser, the top layer of sediment is light brown, gelatinous, and has a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide. The underlying transition zone is mottled gray- brown and has pieces of vegetation dispersed as black flecks. Transition zone consistency varies from loose to firm and also has a faint odor of hydrogen sulfide. Below the transition zone, the sediment is gray, semifirm to firm, and has no or a slight odor of hydrogen sulfide.

I . .t 0.02 I

0 Lo ' ' ' ' ~ / ~ � 9 ~: I0 ~ 1 7 6 ' ~ 5

25~ VOLATILE SOLIDS

- /\ - - -4:) -@O-O- O . . . . . . . . . . O~

0.03 -1 �9 CllSi / 0

o.o / \ 1 . s 0, .T

00,- / \ -1 ~ ~~176 / \ * .__. .t ....... o U. t o. : " ~ . - . . J ~ o I- ,o,- I

0"25F e - - A I / S i "1 ~ 50"

0.20~- e o / ~ . e--e~~ ICF 7 \ SEDIMENT THICKNESS O. 15p 1 ~ / X TOP LAYER -I 0"O / " t2L / X -~

~= 8 h / X -4 4 .o "~ " ~ . _

~k / \ d I-~, -----~--~ ,o . . . . o 2 4F l " ~ -t o ? - \ ~ \ \ ~ , / /,, / /~ ~ / ~o o- ~ - ~ e l 11 2 3\5 6 7 8 9 10/ 12 13

v'f~' ! ~z=-------~~'l-~ . . . . . ~ \ \ \ \ / 1 2 3~5 6 o7 . . . . . . . . . . 8 9 /13--'~- -~Y- -- - - ~ 1,2/ ~3/ J-~ // E F F L U E ' ~ / / ~ \ . ~ :: ':. #~'.: :...:A.. :.:. <,::..:.,:: ..[.. 11 / / ' ~ : . ~ [ : I l l I ' l ~ ' : l ~ : [ . , . : : ' l : ' ; : l ~ " 11 / DIFFUSER- ~ o ~ , ~ f -~ -~-~/~--// / /

EFFLUEN | 0-" km 1 /'LAPHAM IS, l/ / / / DIFFUSER- ~o~- ' ' ' - - -~ -~ /T - ' / / / / / ........... t/~-- :.=-.-:.~//OROWN/ / ,CoRIONWN ! tHALWEG~>" ~ A ' / / / / / ~ , P C TREAtME,t PO,NT : . , / / B~,D~E

/ .... ":. . " . i ~ c ~ ~ : ~ ~ - ' - LAPHAM IS. 0 km 1 :- �9 ...~,.~ / ........... /~APHAMM'E'N//CROWN/ /CROWN POINt ~ ~ M ~ I D I T l ~ . I ~ I P C TREAT ~, POINT ~]~//BRIDGE / S T O N Y ~~~....~.'~ANI ~ - ' ~ - 7 _ A P H A M ISJAN D . POINT ~=---,=--N [LAKE CHAMPLAIN VI~~ -" I

S TO NY . : ~ .'~."~~-~,~,N POINT ~,,----~,--N ILAKE CHAMPLAIN V[" :'~"' I

Fig 2 Sediment thickness and distribution of components in the upper, poorly consolidated layer of sediment cored between Stony Point, Vermont, and the Crown Point Bridge, which crosses the lake at Crown Point, New York. Open circles, 1973 data; solid circles, 1988 data. Station numbers are shown on the index map

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i I By combining all observations and analyses of the core z samples, we made our best estimate of the thickness of the upper, unconsoliated and, in the area of the diffuser, con- N taminated, sediment layer. Figure 1 shows all the measure- ~ ments made for water, volatile solids, and organic carbon o in the three cores nearest the diffuser pipe. One core (sta- ; 10 I tion 3, core 008) lies upstream (south) of the diffuser pipe; r5 y , the others (station 5, core 009; and station 8, core 002), lie ~ ~ 5~ downstream (north) of the pipe (see Fig. 2). Although deter- ~ | mination of the base of the contaminated layer may be o 0 subjective, Figure 1 shows clearly the contrast between the 6

r -

character of the upper material and the underlying, un- | contaminated natural material. -~ 4

u

2 Our control station at Stony Point lies upstream from any paper plant effluent, both from an old IPC plant at 0 Ticonderoga (see Mason 1977) and from the new plant. The top, poorly consolidated layer in the control core was only 1 cm or less thick both in 1973 and in 1988 and contained low (<2~o) organic carbon and no sulfur or chlorine. Similarly, measured constituent values in all cores, collected upstream but closer to the diffuser, have changed little since 1973 (see Table 1 and Fig. 2). However, downstream from the diffuser, changes have been dra- matic. For example, water content increased from 72 to 85 percent, volatile solids from 7 to 20 percent, and organic carbon from 2 to 12 percent. In the 1988 cores, C1/Si and S/Si were high and variable throughout the top layer and were found in only three stations near the diffuser. These ratios were zero in other cores (Fig. 2).

In 1973, two years after the plant opened, the maximum thickness of the top layer observed at two sites (stations 6 and 7) near the diffuser, was 3.8 and 4.5 cm, respectively, s/si In 1988, the thickness of the top layer in two cores (stations AI/Si 5 and 8) nearest to the 1973 cores was 17 and 10 cm, Cl/Si respectively. Ti/Si

Volatile Among three cores collected in 1988 along a transect solids

across the lake near Lapham Island, values for the thick- ness of the top unconsolidated layer, volatile solids, and organic carbon are similar (Fig. 3). This suggests that efflu- ent is being distributed not only in the central channel 1.4 km downstream from the diffuser, but to either side of the lake. With one exception, all the values for all the mea- sured components are higher in 1988 cores than in 1973 cores (Fig. 3).

In the northernmost cores, the thickness of the upper layer in 1988 exceeds the thickness of those collected in 1973 by 2.4 cm (Table 1, Fig. 2). More extensive sampling, however, will be needed to document the extent and thick- ness of the effluent-bearing sediment north of the diffuser.

Analyses of the suspended components recovered from intake and effluent water are shown in Table 2. Sulfur, aluminum, and chlorine relative to silicon are more abun- dant in the effluent than in the intake water. Chlorine is enriched by a factor of 22.6. We also show that titanium increased by a factor of 50 in the effluent. We have not determined how much of the apparent enrichment is a function of a change that takes place in the silicon concen- tration in the treatment process. About 40 percent of the suspended solids in the intake water consist of volatile

ORGANIC CARBON C

I 0 0 0 |

VOLATILE SOLIDS �9 tt

0 O O

SEDIMENT THICKNESS O 1 TOP LAYER �9 Q |

O 005, 0%,,015 OO3 01Z,013, 00~,

"E 0 ~.~THYMETRY / ~

THALWEG 0 km 0.5 L I I I I I

Fig. 3. Organic carbon and volatile solids in, and thickness of, the top layer of sediment cored, and bathymetry along a profile from the New York to the Vermont shore. See Figure 2 for location of Profile A A'. Open circles, 1973 data; solid circles, 1988 data

Table 2. Particulates and dissolved solids recovered from plant intake and effluent water

Intake water Effluent Increase

3.13 10.21 3.26x 1.23 2.58 2.1x 0.14 3.17 22.6x 0.01 0.50 50.0x

<40~ >68~ 1.7x

solids, whereas 68 percent of suspended solids in the efflu- ent consist of volatile solids. We were unable to recover enough filtrate from the intake water to measure organic carbon; however, in the more abundant filtrate from the effluent, organic carbon accounted for 18 percent of the solids (dry weight).

The average size of particles measured with SEM and light microscopy is about 3-10 x smaller in the effluent than in the intake water. Presumably, the treatment pro- cess removes much of the coarser textured material and returns only the finest particulates to the lake. Both SEM and light microscopy show that the average particle size of sediments in the top layer of core 009 is also significantly smaller than that in lower strata as well as that in the unconsolidated top layer of the control core at station 1 (Fig. 4). This, in part, explains the increase in water content of the sediment contaminated with effluent.

Clearly, sediment derived from the paper plant is con- tributing to the rate of sediment accumulation, which, near the diffuser is about 1 cm/yr. The increased thickness of

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Fig. 4A-D. Scanning electron photomicro- graphs of samples collected in 1988 from core 001 (A,B) at the control site 22 km upstream from the IPC diffuser and from core 009 (C, D) col- lected at the diffuser (see Fig. 2). A and C are in the top uncon- solidated layer; B and D are below the unconsolidated layer. The particles in C, most of which have passed through the IPC treatment pro- cess, are more homo- geneous and smaller in size than particles in A, B, and D, which compose natural Lake Champlain bottom sediment

sediment near the diffuser may be related, in part, to the use of alum in the treatment process to flocculate the fine suspended particles. Chlorine and sulfur were observed only in the cores closest to the diffuser, suggesting that they remain in sediments where accumulation rates are highest and leaching may be inhibited.

Conclusions

Our physical and chemical measurements show that the waste effluent from the IPC plant has enlarged the deposit of unnatural sediment accumulating north of the discharge diffuser from 1973 to 1988.

The similarity of the composition and texture of the top layer of sediment in the cores near the diffuser to those of the effluent supports the contention that much of the mate- rial accumulating on the bottom from the diffuser to the Crown Point Bridge is derived from the IPC plant.

The presence of both sulfur and chlorine in effluent and in sediments is evidence that components alien to the natural environment are present in water, suspended solids, and sediments accumulating on the bottom near the IPC plant. Because chlorine used in the Kraft paper pro- cess reacts with lignin (a natural glue that holds tree fibers together) to produce TCDD (dioxin), a known carcinogen (Zanetti 1989), additional studies to assess the level of TCDD in southern Lake Champlain should be carried out.

Epilogue

Shortly after our new data were submitted to IPC, the case was settled with a $5 million award to the plaintiffs. As part of the settlement, both parties agreed to set up a $500,000 escrow account to fund research on the lake. However, IPC insisted on a stipulation that the expert witnesses, authors of this article included, who testified on behalf of the plain-

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tiffs, be ineligible to compete for funding from this account. Clearly, our few observations, in the view of the defendant, had significant impact on the outcome of this landmark class-action suit, the first of its kind permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Acknowledgments For the 1973 studies, we thank L. Carlson, C. Reed, J.Townsend, H. Curtis, and S. Dwinell of the Vermont Agency of Transportation and C. Pagel and D. Burnham of the Vermont Agency of Environmental Conservation for assistance in sampling and analyses. For the 1988 studies to thank P. Goreau, Captain of the R/V Baldwin and a member of the Geology and Geography Department of Middlebury College; E. Joselson and T. Seeley of the law firm Langrock, Sperry, Parker, and Wool, Middlebury, Vermont; P. Olander of the Agency of Natural Resources, Vermont Water Quality Division, and Lt. D. George, of the Vermont State Police for assistance with the water and sample collection. Total organic carbon analyses were conducted by Endyne, Inc. of Williston, Vermont. Volatile solids were measured by the senior author and R. O'Brien at the Vermont Agency of Transpor- tation Materials and Research Laboratory, Montpelier, Vermont. Light microscopy was performed by M. Gosbee of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in the Air Quality Laboratory at Waterbury, Vermont, and electron

microscopy was performed under the supervision of G. Hendricks at the University of Vermont Medical Cen- ter, Burlington, Vermont, and by J. Commeau of the USGS, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. J. Zwinakis and D. Blackwood, USGS, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, prepared the illustrations.

References

APHA (American Public Health Association) (1971) Dissolved mat- ter method for solid and semisolid samples. In: Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 13th ed. APHA, pp 539, 541

Casey JP (1960) Pulp and paper: Chemistry and chemical technology, 2nd ed. New York: Interscience Publishers, 4 vol

Gaudette HS, Flight WR, Toner L and Folger DW (1974) An inex- pensive titration method for the determination of organic carbon in recent sediments. J. Sediment Petrol. 44:249-253

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