Freedom Industries Site Geophysics

Freedom Industries was a chemical storage facility located along the Elk River just upstream of the confluence with the Kanawha River. In 2014, an Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) failure spilled the chemical, 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol or MCHM, commonly known for its use in washing coal to remove impurities into the Elk River contaminating the water supply for the City of Charleston, WV for more than two weeks. All ASTs and other surface structures had been removed, oil water separators had been installed, and excavation had taken place in the main area of the spill, but seepage of chemicals was still observed and the WV Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) was concerned that there might still be pipes in the ground that might be the source of this seepage.

Rhea’s geophysicist worked with the client Core Environmental Services, who were responsible for the remediation of the site. After setting up a site grid, two geophysical investigational methods were employed to locate pipes and other subsurface anomalies in relation to the grid. A EM-61 time-domain metal detector was used to detect subsurface anomalies with a metallic signature to a depth of 10 feet and ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to detect any variation, metallic or non-metallic, in the shallow (less than 4 feet deep) subsurface.

The EM61 survey was conducted based on profiles separated by 2.5 feet with close to 15,000 measurement points (roughly 1.9 line miles of data). GPR measurements were made along the same profiles as the EM61 where the survey was practical to conduct. The results clearly delineated numerous linear features. Some of these features relate to buried AST foundations, but most appear to be underground pipes.

The geophysical survey results provided an unparalleled view of the subsurface that facilitated the removal of pipes that helped remediate this contaminated site. The relocation of a gas main also helped avoid what could have been a serious incident had an excavator accidentally hit the line.

Services: Geophysics

Industries: Commercial + Industrial