"---_._. -----_.,---------------,._--- - ---'---

INVESTIGATION OF EXOTHERMIC REACTION IN TIRE SHRED FILL LOCATED ON SR 100

IN ILWACO, WASHINGTON

Prepared by: Dana N. Humphrey, Ph.D., P.E.

Consulting Engineer P.O. Box20

Palmyra, Maine 04965 (207) 581-2176

Prepared for: Federal Highway Administration

Washington, D.C.

March 22, 1996

Dana N. Humphrey, Ph.D., P.E.

Mr. Richard S. Cheney, P.E. Bridge Division HNG-31 Federal Highway Administration 400 - 7th St. SW Rm 3113 Washington, D.C. 20590

Consulting Engineer P.O. Box20

Palmyra, Maine 04965 (207) 581-2176

.April 1, 1996

RE: . "Investigation of Exothermic Reaction in Tire Shred Fill Located on SR 100 in ilwaco, Washington"

Dear Mr. Cheney:

Enclosed is one copy of the final report for the above referenced project. In addition, I have enclosed the original color photographs. Please return the photos to me after you have scanned them into your computer system. A copy of the report on disk (WORD 2.0 format) is also enclosed. I have expressed a copy of the report to Nancy Boyd at WSDOT.

We should discuss what additional role you would like me to play in documenting and analyzing information obtained during remediation of the Ilwaco tire shred filL I will call you this week to discuss your needs.

Please contact me if you have any questions. I am looking forward to continuing to assist you in investigating this matter.

Enclosures

~ancy Boyd (WSDOT)

Sincerely,

d- cr,90-~d-~, DanaN. Humphrey, Ph.D., P.E. Consulting Engineer

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1

SCOPE ........................................................................................................................... 1

TIRE SHRED FILLS WHICH HAVE EXPERIENCED AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION .................................................................... , ............................................... 2

Dwaco, Washington ............................................................................................. 2 Garfield County, Washington ............................................................................. 17 Glenwood Canyon, Colorado ................................................ , ............................. 25

TIRE SHRED FILLS WHICH HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED AN . -r·

EXOTIIERMIC REACTION ........................................................................................ 28

REPORTS OF EXOTHERMIC REACTIONS IN STOCKPILES AT TIRE SHRED PRODUCTION F ACILITIES .......................................................................... 30

POTENTIAL CAUSES OF INITIAL EXOTHERMIC REACTION ............................. 31 Oxidation of exposed steel wires ........................................................................ 31 Role of microbes in oxidation of steel belts ................... , ..................................... 35 Oxidation of rubber ............................................. ~ .............................................. 36 :Microbes consuming liquid petroleum products .................................................. 36 Potential aggravating factors in tire shred fills and stockpiles which have experienced exothermic reactions ....................................................................... 38

RECOl\.1I\.1ENDATIONS FOR MONITORING IL WACO TIRE SHRED FILL ............ 40

POTENTIAL MITIGATION MEASURES FOR ILWACO TIRE SHRED FILL .......... 40

PRELIMlNARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES FOR FUTURE TIRE SHRED FILLS .................................................. 41

RECOl\.1I\.1ENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ........................................ 42 Further Study ofDwaco Tire Shred Fill .............................................................. 42 Monitoring Existing and Future Tire Shred Fills ................... : ........... : .. : .............. 42 Laboratory Study ....................................... : ... , ................................................... 43

SUMMARy ............................................................................... : .................................. 43

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................... 44

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 44

INVESTIGATION OF EXOTHERMIC REACTION IN TIRE SHRED FILL LOCATED ON SR 100

IN ILWACO, WASHINGTON

INTRODUCfION

Tire shreds and tire shred/soil mixtures have been used on highway projects as

lightweight embankment fill, lightweight retaining wall backfill, drainage layers, thermal

insulation to limit frost penetration beneath roads, and replacement for soil or rock in

other fill applications. More than 70 successful projects have been constructed on state,

local, and private roads. Tire shreds have proved to be very economical compared to

other types oflightweight fill. Moreover, a large number of waste tires can be used in this

application. There have been several state highway projects that used 100,000 to more

than 1 million tires per project. Thus, use of tire shreds for highway applications has the

potential to make a significant contribution to solving our nation'S waste tire disposal

problem.

In 1995, however, there were three instances where tire shred fills used for highway

projects experienced an exothermic reaction l . The three projects are SR 100 in ilwaco,

Washington, Falling Springs Road in Garfield County, Washington, and a retaining wall

alongside 1-70 in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. The Federal Highway Administration

(FHW A) commissioned this report to gather information on the possible causes of the

exothermic reactions.

SCOPE

. The writer made a fact finding trip to Washington State from February 8 through

February 11, 1996. He met with Washington State Department of Transportation

(WSDOT), FHWA, and Washington State Department of the Environment (WSDOE)

personnel at the WSDOT Tumwater office on February 8, 1996. On February 11, 1996

he visited the SR 100 tire shred fill and met with the following WSDOT personnel:

Melany Lee, Don Revis, and Steve Gacke. Although not part of his contract

I An exothermic reaction liberates heat as a result of the reaction causing a temperature rise. The converse is an enodothermic reaction which absoros heat as the result of the raction. In the latter case, the heat must generally be supplied by an external source; less commonly, the temperature of the mass may decrease.

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requirements, the writer also visited a tire shred fiIl on a county road in Garfield County

on February 10, 1996. At this site he met with the County Engineer, :Michael Selivanoff;

and several representatives from county government and WSDOE.

Subsequent to the fact finding trip, WSDOT and WSDOE provided the writer with

field monitoring data gathered at the TIwaco site. To obtain additional information that

would be helpful to the investigation, the writer contacted several representatives from

other state departments of transportation, the tire shredding industry, tire manufacturers,

and the Scrap Tire Management Council. In addition, the FEW A provided the writer with

the results of a survey of state DOT's use of tire shreds in highway construction.

- ,-," The writer prepared this report based on observations made during the site visit, data

provided, by WSDOT and WSDOE, and other available information. This report

summarizes the information that was gathered and discusses potential causes of the

embankm~nt heating, possible measures to be taken to mitigate the current problem and

possible steps that should be taken to avoid similar problems on future installations

involving tire shreds. Recommendations are made for monitoring existing tire shred

installations on highway projects and areas of research that are necessary to further define

the causes ofthe heating problem and prevent reoccurrence in future installations.

TIRE SHRED FILLS WIDCH HAVE EXPERIENCED AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION

Dwaco, Washington

A tire shred fill was used to repair a landslide in the SR 100 Loop Road in TIwaco,

Washington. The project is located near Ft. Canby State Park. The road is paved and

serves mostly as a scenic route for entering and leaving the park. In December 1994, a

landslide occurred in a section of the road that 'is adjacent to Baker Bay at the mouth of

the Columbia River. This section of road runs roughly north-south. The slide left a gap in

the road that was 140 ft measured along the centerline of the road and about 25 ft deep.

Tire shreds were determined to be the most cost effective way to fill in the gap left by the

slide because their lightweight eliminated the need for excavating a shear key into the

underlying soil, and rock or construction ofa buttress at the toe of the fill.

A cross section through the slide repair is shown in Fig. 1. About 3 ft of loose soil

and debris was excavated from the bottom of the slide area. The edges of the slide area

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.5 o o -~ c o

t;:;

e ..c ., .~ To e -5 c o -u Q) ., ., ., e u

-

rise up steeply (1.3H:1V to 2H:1V slope) to meet the existing road surface as shown in

Fig. 2. The bottom of the slide was covered by a 4-ft thick rockfill blanket. The width of

the blanket measured parallel to the centerline of the road was 50 to 70 ft. The blanket

daylights at the toe of the repair. The drain material exposed at the toe was 3 -in. minus

crushed rock. The tire shreds were placed directly on the rock drain. At the deepest part

of the slide, the tire shred layer was 26 ft thick beneath the east shoulder of the road. The

side slopes of the tire shred fill were 1. 75H: 1 V as shown in Fig. 1. The east side slope

faces Baker Bay. Geotextile was placed on the top and side slopes of the tire shred fill.

Beneath the traveled way, the geotextile was covered with 4 ft of granular fill (called

gravel borrow in Fig. 1) followed by 0.65 ft of crushed surfacing top' course. The road -,.,"

was paved with 0.35 ft of asphaltic concrete pavement. The side slope was covered with

2 ft (measured normal to the slope) of topsoil, separated from the tire shreds by only the

layer of geotextile. A view of the east side slope of the repair is shown in Fig. 3.

The tire shreds were obtained from Waste Recovery in Portland, Oregon. They were

typically 4 to 6 in. long and 2 in. wide. Several pieces that could be seen on the ground

surface beyond the toe of the repair, were more equidimensiomll, about 4 in. by 4 in. Steel

belts were exposed at the cut edges of the tire shreds. Examples' of tire shreds observed

on a February 11, 1996 site visit, are shown in Fig. 4. Mr. Mark Hope of Waste Recovery

indicated that the shreds were produced by a shearing process. During shearing, the shreds

and shearing machine were sprayed with water to cool the cutting blades. The shreds

were trucked to the job site immediately after production. The WSDOT resident engineer

stated that some of the tire shreds were stockpiled for a few weeks at the site prior to use,

while others were placed in the fill at the time of delivery from the supplier.

Construction began on September 23, 1995. A dragline was used to remove the soft

soil and debris from the bottom of the slide area. Then the rockfill drain was placed. Tire

shred placement began on approximately October 3, 1995. Shreds were dumped from

both ends of the side area and pushed down the steep end slopes to the level of the fill.

The shreds were then spread with a Caterpillar D-4 bulldozer. The specifications called

for a 3-ft maximum lift thickness, but the WSDOT inspector stated that the lifts were

typically much thinner being 0.5 to 1.0 ft thick. Each lift was compacted with a minimum

of three passes of a bulldozer with a minimum operating weight of 70;000 lb. The side

slopes of the tire shred fill were dressed with a backhoe prior to placement of the

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'"

Fig. 2 Longitudinal section through tir\) shred fill on SR 100 in Ilwaco, Washington. (taken from WSDOT construction plans)

. ' • , ~

• • - . • .. - • • • • & - " ~ • • .., . ' • ~ • -.. • ,. • •

Fig, 3 Photograph of completed east side slope of the slide repair.

Fig, 4 Photograph of tire shreds observed during February 11, 1996, site visit.

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geotextile. A photograph of tire shred placement is shown in Fig. 5. The WSDOT

inspector recalled that one truck load of tire shreds had a significant content of fine rubber

particles. Tire shred placement was completed on approximately October 18, 1995.

Approximately 4,000 tons of tire shreds were used. During the period when tire shreds

were being placed, 4.8 in. of rain was recorded at the Clatsop County Airport in Astoria,

Oregon, which is about 13 miles southeast of the project.

Topsoil placement on the east side slope occurred simultaneously with tire chip

placement. Topsoil was placed using a small crane with a clamshell bucket supported on

timber cnobing. A dump body salvaged from an old dump truck was filled with topsoil.

The dump body was dragged out onto the tire shred fill, within reach 'Of the crane. The

crane then scooped topsoil from the dump body and deposited the soil on the side slope as

shown in Fig. 6. While the contractor was careful not to spill topsoil on the surface of the .

fill, where it would get covered by the next lift of tire shreds, this placement procedure

leaves open the possibility that some topsoil was inadvertently spilled on the tire shred fill.

The soil covering the lower third of the east slope was a brown, very sandy silt obtain

from near the site while the upper third of the slope was covered by black silty sand

obtained from a cranberry bog. The middle third was a mixture of the two soil types. The

east side slope was hydro seeded on October 25, 1995. During the period October 19

through October 31, 1995, an additional 2.0 in. ofrain was recorded in Astoria, Oregon.

o This includes 0.9 in. ofrain that occurred on October 25, 1995, the day hydro seeding was

perfonned. The east side slope was covered with plastic on October 30, 1995 through

November 1, 1995.

The traveled way was covered with 4 fl of gravel borrow that was a crushed rock

with a 1 Yz-in. maximum size and typically less than 10% passing the No. 200 sieve. Next

the crushed surfacing top course was placed. The WSDOT inspector reported that when

the elevation of the completed top course was checked prior to paving, some' settlement

had occurred and additional top course materials had to be placed to bring the road up to

the correct final grade. The road was paved on October 31, 1995. Thus, the road was

paved about 13 days after tire shred placement was completed.

The first evidence of problems was a crack in the pavement observed a few days

before December 25, 1995. No steam was observed during a site visit made by WSDOT

engineers on January 2, 1996. However, on January 3, 1996, steam and heat on the road

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Fig. 5 Photograph of tire shred placement. (photo provided by WSDOT)

Fig. 6 Photograph of topsoil placement. (photo provided by WSDOT)

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were observed. A monitoring program was initiated that included measurement of:

temperature, settlement, air quality, and water quality. Monitoring results are discussed

below.

Temperature monitoring began on January 17, 1996, however, the first reliable

temperature readings were taken on January 18, 1996. Readings were taken in 112-in.

diameter PVC pipes inserted about 12-in. into the east shoulder of the road. There were

twelve measurement locations spaced lOft apart. The last set of readings available for

this report were taken on February 22, 1996. Temperature measurements are graphed in

Fig. 7. It is seen that the temperature measurements at locations 6, 7, and 8 vary between -.-.-

13 0 and 1600F on most reading dates. To determine if there was a trend of increasing or

decreasing temperature with time, the readings at these locations were plotted versus date

in Fig. 8. It is seen that there is no clear pattern of temperature change with time. The

variations could be do environmental conditions such as air temperature, wind speed, and

preCIpItation. Temperatures decrease rapidly on either side of locations 6, 7, and 8,

reaching temperatures of 60 to 900F at locations 1, 2, and 12 (see Fig. 7). On February

22, 1996, temperatures were measured on a grid of points with a 10-ft spacing as shown

on Fig. 9. In paved areas, temperatures were taken in a hole drilled in the pavement. It is

seen that only the temperatures outside of the guardrail on the east shoulder are elevated.

The temperatures beneath the paved area vary from 50 to 700F. Thus, the exothermic

reaction is confined to the east shoulder and side slope area.

Settlement measurements were made at the settlement hub shown on Fig. 9. The

initial reading as taken on October 31, 1995. The last reading available for this report was

taken on February 22, 1996. Settlement versus time is shown on Fig. 10. The settlement

rate appears to have increased after January 1, 1996. Over the period October 31, 1995

through February 22, 1996, 0.59 ft of settlement occurred. This is equivalent to 2.3%

compression of the tire shreds. At least some of this settlement is due to time-dependent

compression of the tire chips as has been reported by Tweedie and Humphrey (1996).

Air quality measurements were made on January 17, 24, and 30, 1996. It was

attempted to measure percent of the lower explosion limit2 as well as levels of carbon

monoxide, organic hydrocarbons, and hydrogen sulfide. However, equipment difficulties

2The lower e>:plosion limit is the concentration offuel vapors below which combustion will not occur in the presence of a flame or spark

-9-

170

160 ~ I ' J, 1.;f' d Jr,if 1\,

~ "', Measurement dat, ,--,

1/18/96 150

0 1125196 "

0 --- 140 211196 u.. O'l 0 215196 Q) 130 u 6. 218196 '-"

W )( 2111/96 OC 120 :::::> '* 2122196

~ 110 -0 . ' W 0... 100 :2: w 90 I-

80

70

60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

LOCATION NO. ,

Fig. 7 Temperature measurements taken at east shoulder of road.

,.-... u.. OJ Q.l -0 ......... ill 0::: :::> I-

~ W n.. 2 ill I-

170

160(]) (:)

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60 1118/96

~

8 e

location 6

location 7

Location B

1/28/96 2/7196 DATE

:,

2/17/96

Fig. 8 Variation of temperature with time at zone experiencing maximum healing.

2/27/96

70 fi12

90 fi11

105~..,a

105~'9

150 ffS

160 ~'7

0 135 ffS

75 fIlS

7511f14

140~

65 .. "2

ff1

70 fi2a I

65 fi19 f5 fi21 60 fi34

65fi18 160 fi26 60 flf33

65 fi11 60 fi2S 55 flf32

'" SETIrLEMENT HUB 70 fi16 60 f1124 55 fi31

70 fi1S 60 fi23 55 flf3D

~ Location SA

60fi14 65fiZ2 55 fi29

55 fi13 170 fi7.1 .

1~ "'",lloo S8 -E- GU RDRAIL

t ! TO ILWACO

CIL

LEGEND

/ Temperature (deg. F)

70 fj#77

'- Location no.

Fig. 9 Temperatures measurement grid with readings taken on February 22, 1996.

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<2 ........ z 0 I-

~ ~ ..., ....J W

91.2

91.1

91.0

90.9

90.8

90.7 7\

90.6 ~I~I~I-LI~~~~~~-L~-L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-L~~~~~~-L~-L~~~~ 10/31/95 11/20/95 12/10/95 12/30/95

DATE 1/19196

Fig. 10 Settlement measured at settlement hub versus time.

218/96 2128/96

prevented obtaining a complete set of measurements on any of the three sampling dates.

Organic hydrocarbon was measured with a photoionization detector (photovac Microtip

HL-2000). Measurements were taken at 15 locations. Sample location 6.b is an open

bottomed PVC pipe used to protect the settlement hub shown on Fig. 9. At sample

locations SA and SB measurements are taken in a crack in the pavement located at the

centerline of the road (Fig. 9). The remaining sample locations are pieces of 112-in.

diameter PVC pipe embedded into the soil at 10-ft intervals along the east shoulder of the

road. These are sample locations 1 through 12 on Fig. 9. On February 10, 1996, Melany

Lee (WSDOT) discovered that the bottom end of these pipes had been covered with duct

tape. Thus, the air quality measurements made at locations 1 through 12 may not be

representative of actual conditions and will not be considered in the following discussion.

Air quality results are summarized in Table 1. Measurements of percent lower

explosion limit were taken only on January 17, 1996. At all sample locations the level was

reported as non detect. Carbon monoxide measurements were taken at all sample .

locations on January 17, 1996, but at only locations 6.b and SA on January 24, 1996. The

results from locations 6.b, SA and SB showed levels between 59 and 250 ppm. Organic

hydrocarbon levels were 400 ppm on January 24, 1995 at sample location 6.b. No other

reliable measurements of organic hydrocarbons are available. Hydrogen sulfide levels

between 0.5 and 1.0 ppm were measured at 6.b, SA, and SB on January 17, 1996 and 2

ppm at SA on January 24,1996. If measurements of the parameters in Table 1 had been

made at a location away from the fill, it is expected that results would have been non­

detect. For reference, the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) is 35 ppm for carbon

monoxide and 10 ppm for hydrogen sulfide. The OSHA PEL for organic hydrocarbons is

a function of the type of compound.

Two water quality samples were taken on January 17, 1995. One sample, designated

SWl, was taken from the seep located at the toe of the repair. The other (SW2) was a

background sample taken from a culvert at Mile Post 3, where there is no influence of the

tire shred fill. The concentration of eight metals, semivolatile organics, and volatile

organics were measured. The results were non detect for all substances, except that low

levels of zinc (13 ppb) and cis-l,2-Dichloroethene (2 ppb) were found in SWI. For

reference, the drinking water limit for zinc is 5000 ppb and for cis-l,2-Dichloroethene the

limit is 70 ppb. Results of the January 17, 1996 tests are presented in Appendix A. On

January 24 and 30, 1996, the conductivity, pH, and temperature of SWI and SW2 were

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measured. SW1 had a higher conductivity, lower pH, and higher temperature compared

to SW2. The pH at SW1 was 6.26 and 5.2 on January 17 and January 30, respectively.

This indicates that the water is slightly acidic. In contrast the pH at SW2 was 7 (neutral).

Table 1. Summary of air quality measurements.

% Lower Carbon Monoxide Organic Explosion (ppm) Hydrocarbons

Limit (ppm) - r~

Hydrogen Sulfide (ppm)

Date 1117/96 1/17/96 1/24/96 1124/96 1130/96 1/17/96 1124/96 :Lo'c/#I'ND:· .••. ·,.·· 10· ...• :." """"' .•. ".'.,' NJ)";*> 1.oc5#i·.: ··,.····ND·. .. "1.12 I.i . ",' • <*.,. < ,...* ......... ,NDC1·.····.t·. L6c/#~ ' •. ND .'. ".70 ,I ............. ,i", ...'" .... :, ·.··W ·.··.·f,..}'· .toc.#4' 'ND ·5.*_ .. ' .' ' ''., i." . ND~fi.:Lj'. Loc.#S.ND .......• .88 •. ·.···1 ".i '.i .... :" .• , ... ".,.. Oi3».ti· !..oc;i/6.NJ)·I72 ".,,>. '.'i 1*>Ol5<.:f· Loc. #6b ND 250 65 400 .. 0.5 .. Lo6;.#7.··W·'i Ii ......• . ... > ••.......... 500· i .• " ., ..... '.. iND' .•.• ,..' 1.0(;.:#8.' ·.W'{29 "'.1)',,, ..• : ....••.. : ):410'1/ 840*'" .' .. : .•..•. o.5'...~ toif}#9' ND' sIS .. '· .•. ·.· ·····.f.j ....•. ·.·99.io·· ·i:t5>.tZ' 1.06;#10 :ND..·?$:· .i· •.•. ~ ..........••... , iso.ND /1.5i' ii.";:<. toc-WiIND/. '.16. .· .... ·,.··40 •...... ··········13 .·.fo· .. ;: .. ;.'· L6d(M2r·.·ND,63 .. 1 ..•• !./ 15.'::.~·' .. ·"1:(1 • I....,;" Loc. SA ND 59 312 • 45** 0.5 2 Loc. SB ND 250 .. • .. 1.0 " ;>:<s' Shading indicates that measurements may be unreliable because the bottom of '.3"\ the sample tube was sealed with duct tap.e.

ND = non-detect "'Reading not available "Reading unreliable because of strong wind

Soil samples were taken on January 5, 1996. One sample was taken from a 4-in. deep

hole excavated at the location of a vent on the east shoulder of the road. This sample

wasdesignated Vent 1. A background sample was taken in a similar manner from the west

shoulder of the road. The samples were analyzed for 26 metals and other parameters.

The results are summarized in Table 2. The metal levels in the Vent 1 sample varied from

17% lower to 39% more than'in the background sample. For most of the substances the

metal levels were higher in the Vent 1 sample. It cannot be determined if the difference is

related to the natural variability of the soil or if it is due to metals deposited as a result of

the exothermic reaction.

Table 2. Summary of soil sample analysis; sample date: 1/5/96. - r.

Substance Test Test Standard Delection Limit Vent 1 Background Difference .. Method (mg/Kg) (mg/Kg) (mg/Kg)

Mercwy .. _ HG EPA145_5 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.0%

Aluminll1!l ICP EPA100.7 2 9750 8400 16.1% Iron - ICP EPA100.7 5 36300 31600 14.9%

Lead ICP EPA100.7 2 6.2 4.8 29.2%

Magnesium ICP EPA100.7 5 5910 5030 17.5%

Manganese ICP EPA100.7 0.1 324 276 17.4%

Molybdenum ICP EPA100.7 0.5 1 1.2 -16.7% Nickel ICP EPA100.7 1 11.9 10.4 14.4%

Potassium ICP EPA100.7 40 1940 1630 19.0% Silver ICP EPA100.7 0.3 0.63 0.5 26.0%

Sodium ICP EPA100.7 6 261 250 4.4%

Strontium ICP EPA100.7 1 30.2 27.3 10.6%

Thallium ICP EPA100.7 6 6 6 0.0%

Titanium ICP EPA100.7 0.5 714 676 5.6% Antimony ICP EPA1oo.7 3 3 3 0.0%

Arsenic ICP EPA100.7 3 30.4 32.5 ..{i.5%

Barium ICP EPA100.7 0.1 51.7 43.5 18.9%

Beryllium ICP EPA100.7 0.1 0.34 0.28 21.4%

Cadntium ICP EPA100.7 0.3 . 0.3 0.3 0.0%

Chromium ICP EPA100.7 0.5 16.7 12 39.2% Cobalt ICP EPA100.7 0.3 20 18 11.1% Copper ICP EPA100.7 0.5 15 14.7 2.0% Vanadium ICP EPA100.7 0.2 136 118 15.3% Zinc ICP EPA100.7 1 55.6 46.9 18.6% Calcium ICP EPA100.7 2 6040 -5240 15.3% Selenium ICP EPA100.7 4 15 15 0.0%

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The writer made a site visit on February II, 1996. No stearn or smoke was observed

emerging from the fill on this day. A 70-ft long crack followed the centerline of the

pavement. Referenced to the sample locations at the east shoulder of the road, the

centerline crack extended from location3 3 to 10. The crack varied in width from l.5 to 3

in. The crack continued from the centerline at location 3, diagonally across the pavement

towards the east shoulder, until ending as a hairline crack at location 1 before reaching the

edge of the pavement. A hairline crack was observed in the west gravel shoulder of the

road extending from location 6 to 9. In addition, a crack extended diagonally across the

pavement at the south end of the tire shred fill at the approximate contact between the tire

shred fill and the natural ground. No crack was observed in the grav€j rat the east shoulder

of the road, although a crack had been observed by WSDOT personnel at this location in

the preceding weeks. The cracking could be due, in part, to time dependent settlement of

the tire shreds which were observed by Tweedie and Humphrey (1996) to occur for up to

2 months after tire shred placement. It is likely that the exothennic reaction, which would

consume tire shreds, contributed to the settlement and cracking. The east side slope was

covered by clear plastic but the plastic near the upper part of the slope had been blown

free exposing the underlying topsoil. Grass had begun to take root on the slope. The

superelevation of the paved surface slopes from east to west. Thus, the pavement drains

toward the ditch at the west edge of the pavement rather than toward east shoulder,

beneath which the exothennic reaction is occurring.

In mid-February, there was evidence that the rate of reaction was increasing. The

odor level in the vicinity of the fill increased. By early March, liquid petroleum products

were emerging from the base of the tire shred fill. This was caused by the heat of the

reaction partially decomposing the tire rubber. The venting of gasses through cracks and

fissures in the east shoulder and pavement were also a result of the reaction. At about this

time, additional settlement of the east shoulder of the road was noted.

Garfield County, Washington

A tire shred fill was used to construct a road embankment on Falling Springs Road

near the town of Pomeroy in Garfield County, Washington. This county road is gravel

surfaced and is used primarily by farm traffic and local residents. Prior to this project, the

road had a hair-pin curve that skirted the head of a ravine. The embankment was

3To reference the location offeatures observed at the site, it is convenient to use sample locations I through 12 which are spaced lOft apart as shown on Fig. 9

- 17-

constructed across the ravine to eliminate the sharp curve. A 6-ft diameter corrugated

metal pipe (c.m.p.) was used to carry an intermittent creek beneath the embankment.

The preconstruction survey conducted by Michael Selivanoff, Garfield County

Engineer, on November 8, 1994 showed that the planned height of the embankment

measured from the centerline of the road to the bottom of the culvert was 49.5 feet. The

embankment had a 32-ft crest width and 1.5H:l V side slopes. The base width of the

embankment was 192 ft. A cross section of the embankment at its maximum height based

on the preconstruction survey is shown in Fig. 11. The length of the embankment

measured along the centerline was about 225 ft .. The centerline of the embankment trends -'-:"

roughly east-west. The north facing side slope is the downstream side of the embankment,

while the south facing side slope is the upstream side. An estimated 16,500 cy (12,000

tons) of fill was required to construct the embankment. Tire shreds were used for almost

aJJ of the embankment fill. An as-built survey of the completed embankment was not

made ..

Construction of the embankment began in late Fall, 1994. First, most of the

vegetation was removed from the footprint of the embankment. Then, the culvert was

placed in the bottom of the ravine on gravel bedding. The next step was placement of the

tire shreds. Production, delivery, and placement of the tire shreds was the responsibility of

TIre Shredders, Inc., of Goldendale, Washington. The source of 9the tires was the Maak

TIre Pile in Spokane County, Washington. The tire shreds were hauled to the site and

dumped on the east side of the ravine at the top of the slope. A Caterpillar D-7 bulldozer

pushed the shreds down the east side of the ravine. Upon reaching the level of the fill, it

was attempted to spread the tire shreds in 12 to 18-in. thick lifts, however, this proved to

be difficult and many of the lifts were thicker. The bulldozer was used to compact the tire

shreds. The number of passes was left to the judgment of the operators. In the latter

stages of construction, the County provided additional bulldozers to aid in fill placement

and compaction. After tire shred placement was completed, approximately 18 in. of fine

grained topsoil was spread on the side slopes by bulldozers pushing the soil down the

embankment side slopes. It was difficult to spread a uniform thickness in all locations

resulting in some areas having less than 18 in. of cover. The side slopes were seeded by

hand. Finally, 4 to 7 ft of pit run gravel was placed on the top of the tire shreds to form

the road surface. Mr. Selivanoff indicated that the upstream (south) side slope as­

constructed was probably somewhat flatter than 1.5H: 1 V. Construction was completed in

the Spring, 1995.

- 18 -

Fig. 11 Cross section through tire shred fill on Falling Springs Road in GarneJd County Washington.

- 19-

Two types of tire shreds were used. The first were produced by a hammer mill. A

sample provided by Mr. Selivanoff was mostly stringy pieces with a maximum length of

about 12 in. except for one piece that had a width of about 2 in. and a length of 12 in.

Many of the stringy pieces were steel belts encased with a thin covering of rubber. Mr.

Selivanoff reported that this material was very difficult to spread with a bulldozer as it

tended to ball up in front of the blade. Most of this material was placed in the bottom 20

ft of the fill. Since this material was so difficult to spread, some of it was left near where it

was dumped in the east side of the embankment. Thus, there is a zone of this material that

extends down the entire height of the east side of the ravine as well as the lower portion of

the embankment. The second type of shred was produced by shearing. A sample ~r,'

provided by Mr .. Selivanoff had a maximum size of about 10 in. One piece included both

side walls. The other pieces had at least one sidewall removed. This type of shred was

used in' the upper portion of the embankment. A small amount of concrete demolition

debris was also placed in the fill. A photograph of the two types of tire shreds is shown in

Fig. 12.

For the period Spring, 1995 through October 7, 1995, some minor settlement of the

crest road occurred. It is likely that time dependent settlement of the tire shreds (Tweedie

and Humphrey, 1996) was the cause of at least some of this settlement. Additional pit run

gravel was placed to bring the road back to grade. No evidence of heating was observed

during this period.

A flash flood occurred on July 6, 1995. A tree stump became lodged in the inlet of

the culvert causing water to built up about 30 ft deep against the upstream side of the

embankment. It took about 2 hours for the water to drain down. The area upstream of

the embankment is mostly agricultural land so the runoff probably contained organic

matter as well as nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilizer. The flood dislodged the

upstream . length of culvert. The soil and tire shreds were, excavated from around this

length of ~ulvert, the culvert was realigned, and the excavation wa,s backfilled with 112-in.

minus waste gravel from crushing operations. This was dumped at the top of the

embankment and pushed into place. The material at the bottom of the slope appeared to

be clean, uniform 112-in. gravel. The area covered by this gravel is the lighter colored area

on the upstream slope shown in Fig. 13. A close-up of the gravel is shown in Fig. 14.

On October 7, 1995 a passerby reported smoke coming from a fissure in the fill

located on the upstream (south) side slope in the east half of the embankment about 8 ft

-20 -

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

... ... ,~:'(r~·

!.;.' .

Photograph of tire shreds used in Garfield County Fill; shreds on left were produced by shearing;.shreds on right were producted by hammer mill.

Photograph of upstream (south) slope of Garfield fill.

- 21 -

Fig. 14 Closeup of clean gravel on upstream slope.

~ 22-

below the elevation of the road surface. This was determined to be steam rather than

smoke. However, this was the first evidence of an exothermic reaction. For the period

October 7, 1995 though January 17, 1996 the fiIl continued to vent steam. Settlement of

the crest road occurred. Additional gravel was added to maintain the road at its desired

grade.

A preliminary gas analysis was conducted by WSDOE on November 8, 1995. Gases

from four vents were sampled using a OVA 128 Century Organic Vapor Analyzer and a

PhD Atmospheric Monitor. The OVA indicated organic vapors in the range of 2 to

greater than 100 ppm. The majority of the readings were 5 to 12 ppm. However, all

vents showed higher pulses of 25 to 80 ppm with occasional readings_ greater than the top

limit of the meter's scale (100 ppm). The PhD indicated carbon monoxide in the range of

50 to 153 ppm and hydrogen sulfide in the range of 1 to 2 ppm. These readings suggest

that incomplete combustion was occurring in the tire fiIl on this date.

Open flames were first observed on January 17, 1996. The area that was burning was

about four square feet on the downstream (north) side slope to the east of the culvert.

The elevation of the burning area was above the elevation of the top of the culvert. The

flames were extinguished by the Garfield County Fire Department using Wildland brand

fire fighting foam. The road was closed to traffic on this date and the road crew stopped

adding fiB to the top of the road to compensate for settlement. Open flames were again

observed on January 20, 1996 which were again extinguished by the fire department using

Wildland foam. At about this time, the inside of the culvert was inspected. The walls of

the culvert were found to be cool. However, when reinspected on about February 12,

1996, the walls of the culvert were hot at a location about 30 ft upstream from the outlet

of the culvert.

The writer visited the site on the afternoon of February 9, 1996. No open flames

were observed, however, steam and smoke was venting from numerous locations on the

downstream (north) side slope. The steam and smoke vents were confined to an area

between 1/3 and 2/3 the height of the embankment. At the 113 height, the steam and

smoke vents extended from one waIl of the ravine across the downstream side slope to the

other wall of the ravine. At the 213 height, the steam and smoke vents occurred only on

the east half of the downstream side slope. A photograph of the downstream side slope is

shown in Fig. 15. On the downstream side of the embankment crest, east of the location

where the culvert crosses, an area about 100 ft long and lOft wide at its widest point, had

experienced 4 to 6 ft of settlement as shown in Fig. 16. This settlement had occurred

- 23-

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

_.", ~--

-­·r~--..

. .f"; • ...: ," ---..-..... '1.;. "".:. -, .

",?~. .. --. - ~~.~

Photograph of downstream slope of Garfield tire shred fill taken during February 9, 1996 site visit.

Photograph of settlement of crest road observed on February 9, 1996, site visit.

- 24-

since January 17, 1996, when the road crew stopped adding fill to the road surface. It is

likely that this settlement was caused by underlying tire shreds that were consumed in the

exothermic reaction. At the 113 height on the downstream side slope, near the contact

with the west ravine wall, a 6-in. diameter vent hole extending through the covering soil

was observed. Orange flames could be seen just below the surface of the soil. The vent

hole extended at least 2 ft into the embankment, at which point the vent hole turned and

could no longer be seen. On the downstream side slope, two small stearn vents could be

seen near the east ravine wall,· at about the 112 height of the embankment. The general

location of the observed features is shown in Fig. 17.

Glenwood Canyon, Colorado

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) used tire shred fill as backfill

behind a 70-ft high retaining wall located at the Hanging Lake Restoration and Comfort

Station in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. Construction began in the fall of 1994 and was

completed in the summer of 1995. The front face of the wall as made of 2-ft by 4-ft by

16-in. blocks formed from shredded tire rubber mixed with latex. The backfiII was

reinforced with geogrids. A cross section is shown in Fig. 18. Terraces 3 through 6 were

covered with 2 ft of earth followed by a topsoiIJcompost mixture.

The first evidence of heating was stearn observed coming from the fill at several

locations in the area of level 6 during the summer of 1995. On October 30, 1995, fire

broke out on level 6. Knott Laboratory of Denver, Colorado was retained by CDOT to

investigate the cause of the fire. They issued a preliminary report on January 12, 1996.

Their preliminary opinion was that "the cause of the fire was auto-ignition of

concentrations of white wall parts or tires that were heated by a combination of sunlight,

exothermic reaction of compost/sawdust and geothermic heati~g in the area". They

reported that white wall parts ignite at lower temperatures than typical "black" tire rubber.

There is some uncertainty as to· the validity of this finding, as recent tests by a tire

manufacturer found that the ignition temperatures of white wall and bl<ick tire rubber were

about the same. Knott Laboratory is conducting laboratory tests of mixtures of tire

shreds, top soil, and compost to see if an exothermic reaction can be initiated. The report

leaves several questions unanswered. To obtain more information, the writer sent the

letter in Appendix B to CDOT. Partial answers to some of the questions have been

obtained. It is hoped that the remaining answers will be forthcoming from CDOT and

- 25-

p~PProx.) -r·

Flames observed in 6" diam. vent hole on 2/9/96 Steam vents in this

! I

6'c.m.p.

area on 2/9/96

'h ~- Area where flames observed on 1/16/96 and 1/20/96

Steam vents on 2/9/96

4 to 6' of settlement

Fig. 17 Sketch showing location of features observed during February 9, 1996, site visit.

- 26-

I

I , •

- 27-

11 . , : , ,

I ! , , 'I: I :

) i '{

Ii "0 o o ~ .:

'" C5

-= co :l e -= -c o ·z u . '" 0 "'':0

'" '" ... '" 0 0-... 0 uu

co -

Knott Laboratory. A final report from Knott Laboratory is due to be issued in late March,

1996.

TIRE SHRED FILLS WIDen HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED AN EXOTHERMIC REACITON

The FHWA sent a questionnaire to each of the state DOT's to gather information on

use of tire shred fill. A copy of the questionnaire is included in Appendix C. Of the 30

states who replied, 23 do not have tire shred fills (AK, AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL,

IN, LA, MI, MS, MT, ND, NH, NM., OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT). South Dakota returned

information on a planned tire shred fill. In addition, the FHW A Federal Lands Central . -~

Region reported no tire shred fills in the federal lands under their jurisdiction west of the

Mississippi River. The questionnaires from seven states reported that they have tire shred

fills (CO~ KY, :ME, MN, NC, VT, WY). In addition, the writer has information on the

following tire shred fills: Fourmile Lake Grade F.R. 170 in Superior National Forest,

Minnesota (information provided by FHWA); U.S. 101 near Cosmopolis, Washington

(information provided by WSDOT); U.S. 42 near Roseburg, Oregon (Upton and Machan,

1993); and Rt. 646 near Williamsburg, Virginia (Hoppe, 1994). Data on existing tire

shred fills is summarized in Table 3. The shreds for all the projects where made primarily

from steel belted tires. Steel belts where exposed at the cut edges of the tire shreds.

Magnetic removal of steel pieces from the tire shreds was generally not done. On projects

in North Carolina and Virginia, soil was mixed with the tire shred fill. The tire shred fill in

Oregon was underlain by a rockfill drain.

The tire shred fills summarized in Table 3 vary in thickness from 0.75 ft to 20 ft. In

general, the tire shred fill is covered by 2 ft or more of mineral soil. An exception is the

tire shred fill constructed in Cosmopolis, Washington, where 2 ft of topsoil was placed

. directly on the tire shred fill. A WSDOT site engineer rec.aIled that several days after the

tire shred fill was placed in 1993, stearn was coming out of sampling pipes. The

temperature in the pipes was 80 to lOOoF. When measured in late 1995, the temperature

in the pipes was 750F. This heating could have been caused by decay of wood chips that

were underneath the tire shreds. This was the only evidence of an exothermic reaction for

the projects listed in Table 3. The temperature of other tire shred fills constructed as part

of the Cosmopolis project were about 500 F when measured shortly after construction.

- 28-

N \0

Table 3. Summary of highway projects using tire shred fill.

Tire Shred State Agencv Project Name Year Built

Tire Shred Fill Maximum

Thickness Size

~ -- (It) (In.)

CO COOT 1-76 1991 6 4

KY KOOT U.S. 27 1996 2 layers@2' 4

ME Town Richmond 1992 0.5 to 1.0 2

ME MOOT N. Yarmouth 1993 2 3 & 12

ME MOOT T31MO 1994 2 3 & 12

MN USFS Fourmile Lake 1989 2 to 3 -------

MN MOOT Fosstom 1993 N.A. 12

MN MOOT Taylor's Falls 1994 16 12

MN MOOT Pine CitV N.A. 15 12

NC NCOOT 13 projects ---.--- 20 3

NC NCOOT A-l0 5 3

OR OOOT U.S. 42 1990 14 12

VA VOOT Rt. 646 1993 20 10

VT VAOT Middlesex 1990 18 3

VT Town Georgia 1990 0.75 2 to 4

VT Town Arlington Wall 1995 2 4

WA WOOT Cosmopolis 1992 11 12 (est.)

WY WOOT South Pass 1994 15 >12

Shreds Mixed auantltv 01 Tire

Cover thickness & type With Shred Fill Used Soil

- (c. V ./tons) Top Side slopes

N 10,OOO/N.A. 3 It granular & cohesive N.A.

N 3000/N.A. 12 It shot rock 40 It shot rock

N 300/N.A. 1 to 2 It granular 1 It granular

N 1300/801 2.5 to 4.5 It granular 2 It granular

N 232511425 2 to 6 It siltv sand

2 It silty sand + 2.1 It granular

N 2488/N.A. 1 It soil minimum 1 It soil

N 2600/N.A. N.A. N.A.

N N.A./900 6 It granular 3 It granular

N 30,OOO/N.A. 5 It granular 3 It granular

Y 434 to 16,500 4 It cohesive soil 4 1t cohesive soil

Geomembrane + .25 It N Not Available lightweight "" + 6 It soli 5 It /ill

liII

N 8260/5800 3 It soil + 1.9 It granular 3 It soil

Y 55,000/N.A. 5 It so/l 4 It soil

N 2738/N.A. Not applicable 2 ft earth borrow

N 1490/N.A. 1. 75 It gravel Not applicable

N 3000/N.A. 2 It granular + 1 It topsoil Not applicable

N 11,000'/N.A. 2 It granular 2 It topsoil .J N 13,OOOIN.A. 5 It granular 2 It cohesive

--

Minnesota reports that in addition to the three MnDOT projects there are some 56

projects where whole or shredded tires were used as fill for local roads, parking lots, and

driveways. Thickness of the tire shred fill ranged from 2 to 8 ft for the projects where this

data was reported. The data on these projects was very incomplete, so they were not

included in Table 3. None of these projects exhibited an exothennic reaction.

REPORTS OF EXOTHERMlC REACTIONS IN STOCKPILES AT TIRE SHRED PRODUCTION FACILITIES

There have been some reports of exothennic reactions in stockpiles at tire shred

production facilities. Infonnation on four reports is presented herer.· The writer felt it

would b~ appropriate not to identify the owners of the facilities.

In the first instance, heating occurred in a pile of waste shreds that had been removed

from a .tire derived fuel (TDF) product by magnetic separation. The waste shred

contained a high proportion of steel belt mixed with rubber. In addition, the waste

probably contained crumb rubber, as magnetic separation was perfonned with a head

pulley magnet which causes much of the crumb to go the waste rather than the TDF

product. The heating reaction went on for about one year. After one year some smaJI

flames were observed. During periods of high heat, the temperature at the surface of the

pile was 1300F. At other times the surface temperature dropped to 113oF. When the pile

was excavated, a 6-in. thick zone of burned rubber located 3-ft above the base of the pile

was found. This zone tended to flare up during excavation. The temperature at the

bottom of the pile was 500 to 6000 F. The owner prevented future heating problems by

keeping the piles of shred loose. This allowed air to circulate through the pile, carrying

away any heat that was generated ..

The same owner also reported that a pile of crumb rubber made from bias ply (glass - - - - - - - - - - .

belted) tires also experienced heating .. Temperatures in the pile where less than 1500F. A

fire of unknown origin occurred on the surface of this pile. No evidence of combustion

was found in the interior of the pile.

In the second instance, heating occurred in a tire chip stockpile that was 200 ft long,

100 ft wide, and 45 ft high. The heat source was isolated by excavating away the

surrounding chips. Then the heat source itself was carefully excavated. There were 10 to

20 ft of unaffected chips beneath the heat source.

- 30-

In the third instance, two hot spots developed in a stockpile of 2-in. tire chips. There

was no magnetic separation of the steel belts from the chips. The thickness of the

stockpile ranged from 10ft to 50 ft. One hot spot developed at the mid-height of a 50-ft

deep area of the stockpile. This was directly below the discharge of the conveyor belt

from the shredding machine. The other hot spot developed at the mid-height of a 30-ft·

deep portion of the pile. A trench was excavated around each hot spot to separate it from

the remainder of the stockpile. Then the hot spot was excavated and the chips were

spread out until they cooled off.

In the fourth instance, hot spots have developed in IS to 20 ft high piles of 2-in.

chips. This seemed to occur in piles that had been stockpiled for more than a year. The

producer now prevents the problem by rotating the inventory. No problems occurred with

4-in. chips that had been stored for extended periods of time.

POTENTIAL CAUSES OF INITIAL EXOTHERMIC REACTION

An initial exothermic reaction is needed to raise the temperature to the point where

ignition can occur. Potential causes of the initial exothermic reaction are: oxidation of

exposed steel wires, oxidation of rubber, microbes consuming exposed steel belts or

generating acidic conditions, and microbes consuming liquid petroleum products. These

potential causes are discussed in the following sections.

Oxidation of exposed steel wires

Steel wires are exposed at the cut edges of the tire shreds. Exposed wires include the

bead wire, which is used to reinforce a tire where it meets the rim, and cord wire which is

embedded in the sidewalls and beneath the tread of a tire. The bead wire ranges from 1

mm to several mm in diamett;r, while the cord wire is typically less than a millimeter in

diameter. In some cases, cord and belt wire is made from bundles of fine wires. The

amount of steel wire exposed at the cut edges of the tire shreds depends on the type of

equipment used to manufacture the shreds. Tire shreds produced by shearing have less

exposed steel wire than shreds produced by a hammer mill. In the case of shearing, sharp

blades tend to cut the shreds resulting in fewer exposed wires than dull blades which tend

to tear the shreds, producing more exposed wires. Some of the wires are pulled from the

rubber during shearing resulting in pieces of "free" wire with no attached rubber.

- 31 -

Oxidation would be expected to occur more quickly with fine wire since this would have

more surface area per unit weight of steel than larger diameter wire.

Bead and cord wire is made from high carbon steel. Bead wire is typically coated

with brass (an alloy of 66% copper and 34% zinc) while cord wire is typically coated with

bronze (an alloy of 98% brass and 2% tin). The composition of typical bead and cord

wire is shown in Table 4. This data can be used when comparing the type of steel used in tires to published corrosion rates for different kinds of steel.

Table 4. Steel composition of tire cord and bead wire (Dunlop·Tire, 1990)

Compound Tire cord Bead wire Carbon 0.67 - 0.73% 0.60% min

Manganese 0.40 - 0.70% 0.40 - 0.70% Silicon 0.15 - 0.30% 0.15 - 0.30%

Phosphorus 0.03% max. 0.04% max. Sulfur 0.03% max. 0.04% max.

New passenger tires typically have 6.7% cord wires and 3.1% to 3.4% bead wire by

weight. Thus, the total steel content is 9.8% to 10.1% by weight. Another source

reported that passenger tires have a total steel content of 12.5% by weight. The percent

steel by weight of worn passenger car tires would be somewhat higher, as some of the

weight of rubber would have been worn away.

The fundamental reaction for corrosion of iron is

Fe~Fe2++2e-

The site where this occurs is an anode. The excess electrons are consumed at cathodic

sites in the following reaction

It is likely that the exposed steel wires on adjacent shreds are in contact with one another,

providing some level of electrical continuity throughout the tire shred fill. This would

facilitate transport of electrons from anionic to cathodic sites. At neutral pH and under

. aerobic conditions, Fe2+ spontaneously oxidizes in the following reactions

- 32 - .

Fe2+ + 114 02 + H+ -t Fe3+ + 112 H20

Fe3+ + 3 OH- -t Fe(0H)3 precipitates

The net result of the above reactions is

The heat energy released in this reaction is 341 kJ/mole of Fe. Expressed in other tenns,

the reaction would release 2,623 Btu for every lb of iron that is oxidized. The estimated

volumetric heat capacity of tires is 25 Btu/(ft3 OF) based on the following assumptions:

Tires are 10% steel by weight In-place dry unit weight of tire shred fill is 52 pcf In-place water content of tire shred fill is 4% Mass heat capacity of steel is O.ll BtullbOF Mass heat capacity of rubber is 0.48 Btu!IboF Mass heat capaCity of water is I BtullbOF

The volumetric heat capacity is the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 ft3 of

material by 1 of. Using the energy released in the reaction and the estimated volumetric

heat capacity, oxidation of 0.095 lb of steel would be required to raise the temperature of

1 ft3 of tire shred fill by 100F. This assumes that none of the energy is lost to the

surroundings. For comparison, there would be about 5 lb of steel wire in 1 ft3 of tire

shred fill. This calculation suggests that oxidation of the steel belts are a possible cause of

heat build-up provided the reaction occurs quickly enough for heat to be generated at a

rate that is faster than it can be dissipated to the surrounding environment.

The rate of corrosion is affected by temperature, pH, and other environmental factors.

The corrosion rate of plain carbon steel is very sensitive to the temperature. For one set

of test conditions, increasing the temperature from 65 to 700F doubled the corrosion rate

(Chawla and Gupta, 1993). In another example, increasing the temperature from 70 to

1050F doubled the corrosion rate at near neutral pH as shown in Fig. 19 (Chawla and

Gupta, 1993). In the presence of strong acids, the effect of changing pH is negligible in

the range of 4.5 to 9.5, but the rate increases rapidly at pH below 4. However, in the

presence of weak acids such as H2eo3 (carbonic acid), corrosion begins at pH 6 and

becomes rapid at pH less than 5 (Chawla and Gupta, 1993).

- 33 -

0.2

O. B ~ ~

~ InHia) evolution of H" <:-

E -'! E E • 0.1 • ,; "§

40 ·c (105 oF) e c: c: 0 -.. 0 ;; 0.1 0; e '\ ~ 0 <.l '\ <.l

0.0 '\ 20 °c (70 oF) '- -

0 2 4 6 8 TO 12 14 16 pH

Fig. 19. Corrosion rate of iron in water with change in pH at 20 and400 C (Chawla and Gupta, 1993).

The layer of rust [Fe(OH)3] that fonns on the surface of exposed steel acts as a

protective coating that reduces the rate of reaction. Thus, the reaction rate would be

expected to be higher immediately after the tire shreds are produced, revealing fresh

unoxidized surfaces of the steel wires. It is likely that transportation, spreading, and

compacting the tire shreds would partially damage the protective coating of rust, so the

rate of reaction could be greater during and immediately following construction. The

corrosion product Fe(OH)3 is highly insoluble. However, some iron can be maintained in

solution under aerobic conditions by forming complexes with organic materials such as

humic and tanic acids (Brock and Madigan, 1991). Thus, the presence of these acids

could reduce the effectiveness of the protective coating of rust, leading to higher reaction

rates.

The presence of neutral salts, such as sodium chloride, generally increases the

corrosion rate. The salt would increase the electrical 'conductivity of the of the water

. coating the surface of the tire shreds which allows the magnitude of the corrosion current

to increase. In addition, the presence of anions, such as Ch reduces the effectiveness of

the protective coating of rust. Both factors lead to an increase in the corrosion rate. At

very high salt concentrations, the solubility of oxygen in water is reduced to the point

where the corrosion rate can be decreased.

Another mechanism leading to corrosion would be a difference in pH of the water in

two zones of the tire shred fill. This would create a differential potential resulting in

electochemical corrosion. A difference in temperature between two zones of the tire shred

- 34-

fill would also create a differential potential. The hot zones would behave as anodes and

would be subject to corrosion (Chawla and Gupta, 1993).

Role of microbes in oxidation of steel belts

Oxidation of steel belts could be initiated or augmented by the action of microbes.

The possible microbial activities could be classified as follows (Miller ·and King, 1975):

• absorption of nutrients by microbial growths on the surface of the steel belts

• production of sulfuric acid from sulfur compounds

• liberation of organic acids by fermentative growth _r·O

These factors are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Absorption of nutrients by microbial colonies growing on the surface of exposed steel

belts could cause oxygen levels to become depleted beneath the colony. The zone with

decreased oxygen levels becomes an anode while better oxygenated regions away from the

colonies become cathodes (Tiller, 1982). The mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 20. In one

form of this mechanism, iron-oxidizing bacteria lead to the formation of deposits known as

tubercles. The bacteria obtain energy for carbon dioxide fixation by oxidation of ferrous

iron (Fe2+) to ferric iron (Fe3+) leading to the deposition of ferric hydroxide which is the

major constituent of the tubercules. As noted in the pervious section, some ferrous iron

can be kept in solution by forming complexes with organic materials such as humic anc~

tannic acids. Two types of bacteria (Sphaerotiius and Leptothrix) can oxidize the

complex, releasing the ferrous iron, which spontaneously oxidizes to ferric iro·n (Brock

and Madigan, 1991). The reactions discussed in this paragraph are exothermic.

solution

Fig. 20 Microbial oxidation of steel (Tiller, 1982)

- 35-

Elemental sulfur is readily oxidized by sulfur oxidizing bacteria. The genus

Thiobacillus is most commonly involved in this reaction. The reaction is

This reaction is exothermic yielding 589 kl/mole of sulfur (7,900 Btu/lb sulfur). More

importantly, the product of the reaction is sulfuric acid which lowers the pH. If the pH

were to drop below 4, the rate of corrosion of steel belts would increase significantly as

discussed in the previous section. Sulfur bacteria have the potential to cause a significant

reduction in pH (Brock and Madigan, 1991). However, for sulfur bacteria to be a factor, -,...-:

there must be a source of elemental sulfur. It is possible that sulfur could be obtained

from tire rubber. Sulfur is added to tire rubber (about 1% by weight of tire rubber;

Waddell, et al., 1990) to aid in formation of bonds between rubber molecules. Most of the

sulfur b~,~omes chemically bonded to the rubber during vulcanization, however, there may

be some excess sulfur that remains in its elemental state. Moreover, as the tire ages, the

sulfur-rubber bonds slowly break down freeing elemental sulfur. Further study would be

needed to determine how much sulfur would actUally be available for reaction with sulfur

bacteria.

A number of species of fungi excrete organic acids during their normal oxidative

metabolism (Tiller, 1982). Further study would be needed to determine the role that this

mechanism could play in generation ofheat in tire shred fills.

Oxidation of rubber

Tire rubber is composed of synthetic and natural polymers, carbon black and other

ingredients such as hydrocarbon oils, antioxidants, zinc oxide and sulfur. At temperatures

below 2500 F, tire manufactures report that the compounds are very stable and it is

unlikely that they would cause a heat generating reaction. Thus, it is unlikely that

oxidation of the rubber is a significant factor in the initial exothermic reaction. None the

less, this mechanism should be examined for the case of crumb rubber.

Microbes consuming liquid petroleum products

A variety of bacteria, yeasts, and molds are know to oxidize liquid hydrocarbons in an

exothermic reaction. Cyanobacteria and green algae can also oxidize liquid hydrocarbons,

but only where sunlight is available. Petroleum consuming microbes are widespread and

- 36-

would likely be present in tire shred fill. Hydrocarbon consuming microbes act under

aerobic conditions at the interface between oil droplets and water. They flourish only

under certain conditions of temperature and pH, and only if the proper inorganic nutrients,

especially inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous, are available. In fact, bioremediation of

beaches contaminated by the Exxon Valdez spiIl was accelerated by spraying the beaches

with a mixture of inorganic nutrients.

For hydrocarbon consuming microbes to be a factor in the initial exothermic reaction

of tire shred fill, there has to be a source of hydrocarbons. There is no evidence that

microbes can consume vulcanized rubber directly. Gasoline, diesel fuel, and hydraulic oil -,-.-

spilled on the tire shreds during manufacture or during placement at the job site could be a

source of hydrocarbons. Spills that occur during manufacture would likely be distributed

through a large volume of fill as a result of loading the shreds for transport to the project,

dumping the shreds at the site, and then spreading the shreds. On the other hand, spills

that occur on tire shred fill that has already been placed, such as from refueling equipment

or equipment with hydraulic leaks, could result in a concentrated spill that provides

sufficient nutrients for rapid microbial activity resulting in a temperature rise.

Some studies have shown that very low levels of semivolatile and volatile organics

leach from tire shreds but the levels appear to be too low to be a significant source of

nutrients for microbes. For example, Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP)

tests conducted by Downs, et al. (1996) found the sum of the concentrations ofregulated4

compounds ranging from <2.5 to 7 ppb for volatile organics and 499 to 858 ppb semi­

volatile organics, in four samples prepared from tire shreds. TCLP tests conducted by the

Radian Corporation on four different tire rubber products showed levels of regulated

volatile organics ranging from 34 to 13 8 ppb and regulated semi-volatile organics ranging

from <5 to 59 ppb (Radian, 1989). Leaching for TCLP tests are conducted at low pH,

thus the results im: m'ost applicable to 'situatio'ns where the field conditio'ns are acidic.

Laboratory leaching tests at nearly neutral pH and lasting I? months were conducted by

Downs, et al. (1996). The sum of the concentrations of volatile organic compounds found

above their detection limits ranged from 6 to 14 ppb. Likewise, the sum of the

concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds ranged from. 625 to 1600 ppb.

Recognizing that 1600 ppb is slightly over one part per million, these levels are too low to

support significant microbial activity. Thus, it appears that microbes consuming liquid

4The TCLP test procedure only calls for analysis of a set list of compounds. It is therefore possible that the samples contained concentrations of organic compounds that were not on the list.

- 37-

petroleum products could only be a significant factor in the initial exothermic reaction if

there was a petroleum spill to provide the necessary nutrient source.

Potential aggravating factors in tire shred fills and stockpiles which have experienced exothermic reactions

Ilwaco Tire Shred Fill. On this project topsoil obtained from a cranberry bog was

placed on the upper part of the side slope directly on the tire shed fill. The topsoil was

hydroseeded with a mixture of seed, fertilizer, and mulch. The zones of the fill that are

experiencing the exothermic reaction appear to be beneath this area _ 9f topsoil. The fill

beneath the pavement has experienced little to no heating. The method of placing the

topsoil concurrent with placement of the tire shred fill makes it likely that at least some

topsoil was mixed with the tire shreds in the area near the side slope. The topsoil would

be a solirce of organic matter and the fertilizer would be a source of nitrogen and

phosphorous. Rainwater that percolates through the topsoil would leach these substances

into the tire shred fill. Organic material could enhance the oxidation of the steel belts.

The nitrogen and phosphorous are inorganic nutrient necessary for the types of microbes

that consume liquid petroleum products.

The rockfill drain beneath the tire shred fill would provide ready access of oxygen to

the fill. This would support oxidation of steel belts and petroleum products either with or

without the aid of microbes. The high rainfall that occurs in the area would provide the

moisture needed for oxidation and to support growth of microbes.

It was reported that one truckload of tire shreds with a significant content of crumb

rubber was placed in the fill. It is possible that the large surface area of the crumb rubber

would provide a source of sulfur for sulfur oxidizing microbes resulting in the production

of sulfuric acid. If the .pH was reduced to less than 4, the rate of oxidation 'of the steel

belts would increase significantly. The water flowing from the bottom of the tire shred fill

has a pH of 5 to 6 compared to pH of 7 of local groundwater. It is possible that water

that has percolated through the tire shred fill has a pH much lower than 5 but it is diluted

by water from natural seeps before emerging at the toe of the repair. The cause of the

lower pH could be due to production of su.lfuric acid by sulfur oxidizing bacteria,

however, it is possible that the reduction in pH is due to a reaction associated with

combustion of the tire shreds that was occurring at the time the measurements were taken.

The proximity of the project to the ocean, could have introduced some salt into the fill

leading to an increase in the corrosion rate.

- 38-

Garfield County Tire Shred Fill. The flash flood that occurred on July 6, 1995 may

be significant for two reasons. The first is that it provided water that is necessary to

support oxidation of exposed steel belts and microbes that consume iron and liquid

petroleum products. Second, it is 'possible that the flood waters carried phosphorous,

nitrogen, and organic matter into the tire shreds. These substances favor growth of the

type of microbes that consume petroleum products and may enhance oxidation of the steel

belts. The first sign of an exothermic reaction was reported on the upstream side slope. It

is likely the that concentration of phosphorous, nitrogen, and organic matter would be

higher in upstream portion of the fill compared to the downstream portion of the fill. At

this time it cannot be ruled out that the delay between completion of the embankment in

Spring, 1995, and the first evidence of an exothermic reaction on October 7, 1995, was

due only to the time required for the reaction to build up sufficient heat for it to be

noticeable at the surface of the embankment. If this is the case, the flood may not have

played a significant role in initiation of the reaction.

As constructed, the embankment side slopes were covered by a layer of fine grained

soil. During dry periods, this layer would likely be cracked and relatively pervious to air.

This layer was thinner than 18 in. in some areas. Furthermore, the upstream (south) side

slope around culvert inlet was covered with clean, II2-in. unifonnly graded gravel rather

than fine grained soil. Thus, it is likely that the tire shred fill had free access to oxygen.

It appears that the areas where steam/smoke were observed coincide with the area

where tire shreds produced by a hammer mill process were placed in the fill. These tire

shreds have a greater surface area than the shreds produced by shearing. The significance

of the greater surface area is that this leads to more exposed steel belts that can undergo

oxidation and more exposed rubber that could be a possible source of sulfur for sulfur

oxidizing bacteria. In addition, the east end of the embankment is likely to contain more

crumb rubber 'size particles, which also have a hu-ge surfa~e area,' sin~e the fill ~a;; dumped

at the top of the ravine on east side and pushed with dozers into the ravine. Fine particles

are likely to separate out during this process, leaving more crumb rubber in the east side of

the fill which could be a possible source of sulfur. Moreover, it was difficult to compact

these tire shreds, so they could have larger pore spaces allowing for easy movement of air

to support combustion,

Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. The tire shred fill behind the retaining wall in

Glenwood Canyon had ready access to oxygen. The tire shreds were covered by a

mixture of topsoil and compost. The method of construction may have resulted in an

- 39-

accumulation of crumb rubber at the location where the hot spot occurred. Thus, this

project had many of the same potential aggravating factors as the fills in Washington

State. In addition, the wall had a south facing exposure, so solar radiation may have

played some role in the initial heating.

Tire Shred Stockpiles. The access of the interior of tire shred stockpiles to oxygen

depends on the degree of compaction of the stockpile. Loose stockpiles would have ready

access to oxygen but there could be sufficient ventilation to carry away heat that is

generated. Stockpiles that have been compacted would probably still have some access to

oxygen. The hot spots could occur at locations with a favorable combination of access to _r<

oxygen, yet a level of ventilation that is low enough to retain heat. Several hot spots have

been reported at the bottom of stockpiles. These could be locations where nutrients

favorable to the growth of microbes tend to accumulate. The writer has examined the

minus l/4-in. fraction of tire shred samples. This is typically a mixture of crumb rubber,

fine pieces of steel cord and bead wire, and soiL In a few instances, the concentration of

soil has been significant. The crumb rubber could be a source of sulfur for sulfur oxidizing

bacterial. The fine wire could be susceptible to rapid oxidation. The soil could be a

source of organic and inorganic nutrients that promote the growth of microbes.

There was a reported instance ofheating in a pile of crumb rubber made from bias ply

tires. The heating could have been caused by oxidation of sulfur or petroleum compounds

with or without the assistance of microbes.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MONITORING ILWACO TIRE SHRED FILL

During his visit to Washington State, the writer recommended that the temperature

and settlement measurements be expanded from the line on the east shoulder of the road

to a lOft by lOft grid on the surface of the road: In addition, thermal imaging should be

done. These would serve to better locate the areas that were experiencing the exothermic

reaction.

POTENTIAL MITIGATION MEASURES FOR ILWACO TIRE SHRED FILL

At the time of the 'writer's visit to Washington State, there was no steam or smoke

emerging from the filL Subsequent examination of the temperature measurements

suggested that the extent of the hot spot was not expanding and that the surface

temperature was not increasing. Thus, it appeared that the reaction was progressing at a

-40 -

constant rate. The writer recommended that the outlet to the gravel drain be sealed with

plastic to minimize inflow of oxygen at the base of the fill, in an attempt to slow the rate of

reaction. WSDOT personnel sealed the outlet of the drain during the week of February 12

through 16, 1996. It appears that this measure was unsuccessful. The odor level in the

vicinity of the fill increased in late February and by about March 10, 1996 petroleum

product was observed leaking from the base of the fill. WSDOT has hired a local

engineering consultant to develop a remediation plan.

PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES FOR FUTURE TIRE SHRED Fll.,LS

A preliminary assessment of the causes for the initial exothermic reaction suggest that

the measures listed below should be taken to prevent similar occurrences on future tire

shred fill. It is expected that this list will be updated as more information becomes

available.

• The amount of steel belt exposed at the cut edges of the tire sheds should be limited. Consideration should be given to using magnetic separation to limit the amount of exposed steel belt.

• Topsoil should not be placed directly on tire shreds.

• Contact between tire shreds and fertilizer should be prevented.

• Any tire shreds that have been contaminated by liquid petroleum products should be removed from the fill and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.

, • The tire shred fill should be covered by 4 ft of mineral soil with a

minimum of25% fines to limit the contact of the fill with oxygen.

• Consideration should be given to using hrrger'size tire shreds (8-in. to 12-in. maximum size) for thick tir~ shred fills as these would have fewer cut surfaces with exposed steel belt compared to smaller shreds.

• No crumb rubber should be allowed in tire shred fills. One source of crumb rubber is the material that accumulates around shredding machinery and associated conveyor belts. This material is typically composed of crumb rubber, fine steel cord wire, and soil that was brought in with the waste tires. Some tire shred producers dispose of this material by delivering it to the job site mixed with the tire shreds. This practice should not be allowed. Material accumulated during

- 41 -

cleanup operations at the production facility should be banned from tire shred fills.

At this point no recommendation is made to limit the contact of tire shred fill with water,

as it is assumed that there are no reasonable measures that can be taken to keep tire shreds

dry under field conditions. Also no recommendation is made to limit contact of the tire

shred fill with infiltration containing road salt. During the spring melt, the writer has

measured chloride concentrations of about 1000 ppm from water emerging from a tire

shred fill in North Yarmouth, Maine. The experimental investigation should determine if

this level of chloride has a significant effect on the corrosion rate. -,.....

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH

FurtherStudy ofnwaco Tire Shred Fill

It now appears likely that the tire shred fill will be excavated to expose and extinguish

the hot spot. A detailed plan should be developed to document the conditions exposed

during excavation. The plan should include measurement of the temperature of the

exposed shreds on aID ft grid and every 5 ft in elevation. Samples of tire shreds and

covering topsoil should be taken and preserved for future studies. The nature of the tire

shred fill should be carefully documented including the size of shreds, amount of exposed

steel belts, amount of free steel that is not at least partially encased in rubber,

concentrations of crumb rubber particles, moisture condition, pH of the moisture coating

the shreds, presence of topsoil mixed with the shreds, degree of oxidation of the steel

belts, and condition ofthe rubber (melted, charred, etc.). It is further recommended that a

follow-up to this report be prepared based on the conditions revealed during remediation.

Monitoring Existing and Future Tire Shred Fills

Temperature probes and gas sampling wells should be installed in selected thick tire

shred fills .. Gas in the voids in the tire shred fills should be periodically sampled for gas

composition including oxygen level, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,

and hydrocarbons. The pH of water leaching from the tire shreds should be measured.

- 42-

Laboratory Study

A laboratory study should be conducted to test the possible causes of the initial

exothermic reaction. The tests should started at room temperature and any increase in

temperature due to the reaction should be monitored. If it is not possible to initiate a

reaction at room temperature, the starting temperature should be increased to about

IOOoF and then to 2000 F. Any subsequent increase in temperature due to an exothermic

reaction should be monitored. The following variables should be investigated:

• old vs. freshly produced shreds

• amount of exposed steel belts

• effect of crumb rubber

• effect of topsoil

• effect of nitrogen and phosphorous

• effect of salt concentration in pore water

• availability of moisture

• availability of free sulfur from tire rubber

• rate of oxidation of steel belts

SUMMARY

An initial exothermic reaction is needed to raise the temperature to the point where

ignition can occur. - Potential causes of the initial exothermic reaction are: oxidation of ..

exposed steel wires, microbes consuming exposed steel belts, microbes creating an acidic

environment that increases the rate of oxidation of the steel belts, and microbes consuming

liquid petroleum products that could have been spilled on the tire shreds during

construction. Oxidation of rubber was examined as a possible cause, but available

information suggests that this mechanism is unlikely. However, this mechanism should be

reexamined for the case of crumb rubber.

The three tire shred highway fills that have experienced exothermic reactions appear

to have had aggravating circumstances, namely: free access of the fill to oxygen, organic

- 43 -

~" _____ •• ___ o ___ _

-------."---.----.~ - _____ -0_"""-- --- ----~-- - ______ " 0- ___ _

matter leached into the tire shred fill, fertilizer washed into the tire shred fill, significant

amounts of exposed steel belts, and possible accumulations of fine crumb rubber. For

future tire shred fill projects, these aggravating factors should be minimized.

It now appears likely that the Ilwaco tire shred fill will be excavated to expose and

extinguish the hot spot. The writer strongly recommends that a detailed plan be

developed to gather relevant data during this process. The data will shed further light on

the causes of the exothermic reaction. Specific information that should be gathered during

the excavation process is recommended in this report. A follow-up to this report should

be prepared once this information is available.

A laboratory study should be conducted to evaluate specific exothermic reactions that

have been identified as possible causes of the embankment heating. A list of parameters

that should be considered is given. In addition, selected thick tire shred fills should be

monitored to determine the temperatures in the fill and the makeup of the air in the voids

between the tire shreds.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The writer wishes to thank the following individuals for their assistance in gathering

the information used to prepare this report: Nancy Boyd (WSDOT), Melany Lee

(WSDOT), Don Revis (WSDOT), Steve Gacke (WSDOT), Glen Schneider (WSDOT),

Dave Nightingale (WSDOE), Michael Selivanoff (Garfield County), Joseph Zelibor

(National Academy of Science), and Michael Blumenthal (Scrap Tire Management

Council). The costs for the writer to make the fact finding trip to Washington State was

paid for by the Scrap Tire Management Council. This funding is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

Brock, T D., and-Madigan, M. T. (1991), Biology of Microorganisms, Sixth Ed., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliff, NJ, 874 pp.

Chawla, S.L., and Gupta, R.K. (1993), Material Selection for Corrosion Control, ASM International, Materials Park, OR, 508 pp.

Downs, L.A., Humphrey, D.N., Katz, L.E., and Rock, c.A. (1996), "Water Quality Effects of Using Tire Chips Below the Groundwater Table," Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono. (in preparation)

- 44-

Dunlop Tire (1990), "Recycling Recovered Steel Tire Cord and Beadwire".

Hoppe, EJ. (1994), "Field Study ofa Shredded-Tire Embankment," Research Report No. VTRC 94-IR1, Virginia Transportation Research Council, Charlottesville, VA, 46 pp.

:Miller, J.D.A., and King, RA. (1975), "Biodeterioration of Metals," Microbial Aspects of the Deterioration of Materials, R.J. Gilbert and D.W. Lovelock, eds., Academic Press, New York, pp. 83-103.

Radian Corporation (1989), "A Report on the RMA TCLP Assessment Project," by Radian Corporation, Austin, TIC, for the Rubber Manufacturers Association, Washington, D.C., 22pp.

Schulman, B.L., and White, P.A. (1978), "Pyrolysis of Scrap Tires Using the Tosco IT Process--a Progress Report," Solid Wastes and Residues -- Conversion by Advanced Thermal Processes, ACS Symposium Series 76, I.L. Jones and S.B. Radding, eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., pp. 274-284.

Tiller, A.K. (1982), "Aspects of Microbial Corrosion," Chapter 3 in Corrosion Processes, R.N. Parkins, ed., Applied Science Publishers, New York, pp. 115-159.

Tweedie, J., Humphrey, D.N., and Sandford, T.e. (1996), "Tire Chips as Lightweight Backfill for Retaining Walls -- Full Scale Field Trials," Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. (in preparation)

Upton, RI., and Machan, G. (1993), "Use of Shredded Tires for Lightweight Fill," Transportation Research Record 1422, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., pp. 36-45.

Waddell, W.H., Bhakuni, R.S., Barbin, w.w., and Sandstrom, P .H. (1990), "Pneumatic Tire Compounding," Vanderbuilt Rubber Handbook, 13th ed., RE. Olton, ed., pp. 598-6111.

- 45-

Appendix A Results ofnwaco Water Quality Tests

---------,-, ---­.. _-- --- -

· . COLUMBIA ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC.

C1ir:nt: WA St Dept afTransponation Project: SRI 00 Sample Mllfrix: Water

Total Metals Units: P&'L (ppb)

~ . w\..,........ i '3 "",1"t. (>t.l

Sample Name: SWI Lab Code: .K9600327-OO 1

Date A.naIyzed: 1/24/96

EPA AnlIlyte Method MRL Ancnic 7060 S NO Beryllium 6010A S NO CadmIum 6010A 3 ND Chronriwn 60JOA S NO Coppa 6010A JO ND Lead 7421 2 ND Niwl 6010A 20 ND Zinc 6010A 10 13

Post-UN brand fax transmittal memo 707'1

Co.· ....... .....

Service Request: .K9600327 Dale Collected: 1/17/96 Dale R.ec~ UllU96

Ollie Jl:.nracted: 1119196

t~..::.-

SW2 MethodBbmk K96OO3 27-002 K9600327·MB

1124/96 1124196

NO NO ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND NO NO ND ND ND ND

Approved By: ----------~C1_J~C-.------ Dale: ~"OUAll~ I ~:WCI-~lIl.w

:2), lciCp PJ

·,,,,,J.:a..:

/=0 L UMBlA ANAL ¥TICAL Sl:.RVIC1i'.:S, IN C. I-Analytical Rq>ort

Client: W A SI Dept of Transportation ServIce Request: K9600327 Date Collected: 1117196 Date Recei"ffil: 1118/96

Dille JtnncIeU:I1l9196

Project SRl00 Samp\c: Matrix: WaIJ!r

Base Neutral AnaIyte

N-N1trosodimcthylaminc Aniline Bis(2-;;hloroethyl) Ether 1,3-Dichloroben=c 1.2-Dichlombcr,.",ne 1,4-Dichlombc:n=e Bis(2-clJ.10r0is0propyl) Ether Hexachloroethane N-Nitrosodi-n-ilropylamine Ni!IObc:nzenc Isophcronc Bis{2<hlOTOe'thoxy)methane 1.2,4-TrichlOTObcn=c Naphlhalcnc 4-Chloroaniline Hexachlorobutadimc 2-Mcthylnaphlhalene Hexachlarocyclopentadicne 2-ChIoronaphthal= 2-Nitroaniline Accnaphthylcnc Dimethyl PIuhalate 2,6-0initrotolnenc .Ao:naphthcne 3-Nitmanilinc DibenzofUIlUl

I J

Base NcotIa!/Add Scmtvt.latile ~ic Compounds , EPA MCtbods 3520Al8270A

UMs: I'&'L (ppb)

Sample Name; SWI -..-.- SW2 LabCodc: K9600327 -00 1 K9600327-OO2

Date AnaI)'2Cd: lI22!96 1/22/96

MRL

2S ND NO 2S ND NO 10 NO NO 10 ND ND 10 ND NO 10 ND ND 10 ND ND 10 ND ND 10 ND ND 10 ND NO 10 ND ND 10 NO ND 10 ND ND 10 NO ' ND' 10 NO ND 10 ND ND 10 ND ND 10 ND' ND 10 ND ND 2S ND ND 10 NO ND

' .. la, ND NO 10 ND NO 10 ND ND 25 ND ND 10 ND ND .. -----,

Post-ltN brand fax transmittal memo 7671,1' cfpogcs •

,., M..lti.l'l. ::1.i.~ , ---:;J I~ Co. '<1 ""-

Dept. I'hono •

F"'5(,0 'l0S'"- b5'3~ Fax'

Approved By: ______ I-V&:~'--_________ Date:II~1-9'e Dm7lVW..DH1.1~ 1.Jl4.5lI5 /]

Method Blank K960ll9-MB

1/22/96

NO ND NO ND ND ND ND NO ND ND ND NO ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND NO NO ND NO

hpN,..:

COLUMBIA ANALYTICAL SERVICES, mc.

Analytical Report

Client: WA St Dqlt afTtanspol'Ulian Project: SRlOO SlllIlpie Mat:ri:s:: Water

Base NeutraVAcid SanivolatiJe Organic Compounds EPA Mc!hods 3520Al827OA

Units: IIWL (ppb)

Sample Name: SWI

Service Request: K9600327 Date Collected: 1117196 DIIte R=:Ived: lJlat96

Date Extracted.: lJ19196

SW2 MetbodBhl.!lk Lab Code: K9600327-OO1 _ K9600327-OO2 K960119-MB

Dm A.nalyz:d; 1122196 lJ22I96 lI22J96

Ba.sc Neutral Aualyte M.RL

2, 4-Dinitratoiucne 10 NO NO NO Fluorene 10 NO NO NO 4-Cb.laropho:nyI Pho:nyl Ether 10 NO NO NO DiethyI Phthalate 10 NO NO ND 4-Nnmmiline 2S ND ND ND

. N-NrtrosodiphenyIamine 10 NO NO NO 4-Bromaphenyl Phenyl Ether 10 ND ND ND HexachJorobenz;;nc 10 NO ND NO Phenanthrene 10 ND ND NO .Al!thra=e 10 ND ND ND Di-n-butyl PhthaIat!: 10 ND NO ND flootanthcne 10 ND NO NO Pyrc::tJc 10 NO NO NO Butyl Btnzyl Phthala!c 10 NO NO NO 3,3'-Dichlorobc:nzidinc 25 NO NO NO Bcn~(a)anthrac= 10 NO NO NO Cluysene 10 NO' NO NO Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phtha1aIc 10 .' NO NO NO Di-n-octyl Phthalate 10 NO NO NO B=(b)1IuotaD1hcne 10 ND ND NO BeDZO(k)fluoranthene 10 ND NO NO Benzc(a)pyrcne 10 NO NO ND Tndcno{l,2,3-cd)pyTcnc

.. 10 ND. ND NO

Diben.z(a,h)a.otluaccne 10 NO NO NO BeDzo(g.h,i)peIylcne 10 NO ND ND

Approved By: _____ -flM...::.kL-________ Date: _~J(...:;..;:;.,lf'(-"f.-"'b_:_. _ ~1.l.]lf.l"'" '

Client: Project:

----------.---- --- _ ..

COLUMBIA ANAL ¥TICAL SERVICES,lNC.

WA St Dept of TransPortation SRI 00

Analytical R.epon

Sample M>I1rix.: W=

\ I

Scr>iee Request: K9600327 Date CoDected' 1I17J96 Dme~ 11111/96

Dm lxtnu::ted: l/19196

Base Neu1nlIAdd ScmlvoI.e!iIe Organic Cmnprwmds

EPA Methods 3520AI&170A Units: !WI. (ppb)

Sample Name: SWl SWl Method Blank Lab Code: K9600327-OO1 -K9600327-OO2 K960119-MB

Dare A.naIyzcd: 1122196 1122196 1122196

Acid .A.nalyte MRL

Phenol 10 ND NO NO 2-Chlorophcnol 10 NO NO NO Benzyl Alcohol 10 NO NO NO 2-Methylphcnol 10 NO NO NO 3- and 4-Mcthylphenol· 10 NO NO NO 2-N"nrophe:nol 10 NO NO NO 2,4-Dimethylpbe.nol 10 NO NO NO 2,4-Dichloropl=ol 10 NO NO NO BemcleAcid 25 NO NO NO 4-Chloro-3-mcthyIphenol 10 NO NO NO 2,4,6-TrichIorophenol 10 NO NO NO 2,4,5-TrichloropheJlol 10 NO NO NO 2,4-Dinitmphcnol 2S NO NO NO 4-N"nrophe:nol 25 NO NO NO 2-Mcthyl04,6-dinitrophalol 25 NO NO NO PentachlOrophenol 25 NO ND ND

• Quantified as 4-methYlphonol. I

i , j I

I I

. Approved By: ___ -/-Ac..::...!:::...-~--_,__-_,__-----Date; l/e?7jU: lDl'II>Wla:094 I

COLUMBIA A.~AL ITICAL SERVICES, INC.

Analytical Report

Clieat: W A Sr Dept of Transportation Service Request K9600321 Date Collected: 1J17196 Date ~ 1J18l96

Date Extrscted: 1119196 Date Allaly~ 1/22/96

Project: SRlOO Sample M.o.trb:: Water

Sample Name: SWI

i T~~~~~N$mq Base NculIallAcid Semivo1atiIe Organic Compatmds

EPA Methods 3520AI8270A Uniu: )IgIl. (PPb)

Lab Code: K9600327'()OI

Retention TIme

CAS Number TIC (minutes)

98-86-2 AceJOpbrnoryc 275-51-4 Azul= I

100-47-0 BenzonItrile! 95-115-9 Benzorhiazoie 332·24-1 3.Bro~olinc , S5·21-O Benzamide 105-60.2 Caprolactam 1877-72-1 3 -Cyano-benzoic acid 611-74-5 N,N-Dimetby!lx:n:z 120-75-2 2~ylbenzorhiazole

2556-73-2 N-Metbylcaprolactam 99-04-7 3-Toluic add 104-85-8 p-1'uluni~

Approved By: _--;d?r6!!!.~~ ______________ Date: ~57'fc I

EBtimz!ed Colleen b mOD

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

NO NO NO

Olent: Project: SlIlIlpie Matrix:

Sample Name: UbCode:

CAS Number

98-86-2 275-51-4 100-47-0 95-16-9 332-24-1 55-11-0 105~()..2

1877-72-1 611-74-5 110-75-2 2556-73-2 99-04-7 104-85-8

COLUMBiA ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC.

W A SI Dept of TranspolUlian SRI 00 Water

Analytical Report

T~ Tderrtjfjed ColDO'O'mds me)

Senice Request: K9600327 Date CoJItttcd: 1/17/% Date R.ecdved: lJl8l%

Date Em acted: 1119/96 Date AlWyze;!: 1122196

~ NeuttaIlAcid Sanivclatile Organic Compounds , EPA Methods 3S20All!270A

SWl K9600327-OO2

Acetophenone Azulene ,

Bell7.onitrilcj Benr.cthia.zolc ,

TIC

3-Bromoqui.\wline Benzamjde I ~ 3-Cyano-bcnzoic acid N,N .. Dim.ethylbenzamide 2-Methylbenzothiazole N-Mciliylcapro1actam 3-Toluic add p-Tulunitrild

! , ,. ;

! .

Units: II8I'L (ppb)

ReteJrtion lime

(mjrnJtes) EstiJnJlted

COllCCDtrattou

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Approved By; __ -t&zs::~u.. __ -:--_________ Da!C: _,,",VJ..:..:¥'.lI'.,e.::-G'-t; _ I

Client: Project: Sample Matrix:

Sample Name: Lab Code:

CAS NlIDlber

9ll-86-l 275-51-4 100-47-0 95-16-9 332-24-1 55-21-0 105-60-2 18n-72-J 611-74-5 120-75-2 2556-73-2 99-04-7 104-85-8

COLUMBIA ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC.

WASt Dept of Tl1I1lSPOfUIIion SRlOO Water

i

Scnice Requert: K96OOJ27 Date Colle ..... d· NA Date R.ettived:" NA

Dzte l!.nnrcted: 1I19196 Dzte AlIal:r.<ed: If2.21%

I Tcmmivcly I.dcmijjcd Compounds (TIC) ~ Neutral/Acid ~ Organic C""'P""mds

.EPA Methods J520Al8270A

Method Blank K9601l9-MB

.Acetophenori.e Azulene ;

!

B=nitriI.l Bc=thia:zoie

TIC

3-BromoquijlOline Bcnzamidc: !

I CaproIactam J-Cyaw-«lIZOi~ acid N,N-Dimct:hy!ben73m idc: 2-Metbylben7.othiazo1c N-Mctbylcaprolactam 3-Toluic acid p-Tuhlllilril'i

Units: Jlg/L (ppb)

- ,..:

RetesxtiOll TUDe

(minun:s)

Date: "\l~'f£

Eltim .... d CoIICCIItnItIan

ND ND NO ND ND ND NO ND NO ND ND ND ND

• COLUMBIA .viAL ¥nCAL SERVICES. INC.

Client: WA SI D=pt afTransporUtion Project: SRIOO Sample Matrix: WaleI

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Volatile Organic CoIllpOUllds EPA Method 8260A

Units: JI&'L (ppb)

Suvke ~ K9600327 DIlte Collected: Ul7f96 DIlte RI=iYed: Ul8196

DIlte lI::xtraded: NA

COLUMBIA ANAL YTlCAL SERVICES, INC.

CUeD!; Project:

WAS! Dep! Qf'TransPartatioIl $RIOO

SlIlIlple Matrix: Water

Aoaiyte MRL Tetrachlorodhene (PeE) O.S Dibromoc:Woromethane 0.5 1.1-Dibromoe!hane CEDB) 2 ChIorOOeDzen e O.S 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane O.S Elhy!bc:n=c 0.5 TotalXyJenes 0.5 Styrcru: 0.5 Bromoform O.S IsopropylbenzeDe 2 1,1,2,1-Tc:trach.Ioroetbane 0.5 1,2,3-Tric:hloropropane O.S Bromobe= 0.5 n -Propylbenzenc :2 2-Chloro101ucne :2 4-Chlorotoluene 2 1,3,5-TrimctlIy1bet=nc :2 tut -Butylbenzene 2 1,2.4-T.riml:thylbenzcne 2 sec -Biityl1>c:n=e 2 l,3-Dichlorob=ene 0.5 4-Isopropyltoluene ,. 1. 1.4-Diclllorobenzcne . O.S , n -Bu.ty1bcn= ; 2 1,2-Dicb.lorobenzene i O.S

. - .. 1.1-Dibromo-3-chloropropan.e (DBeP) i 2 1.2.4-Trichloroben= ! i 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzc:ne 1. NaphIhalc:ne :2 H=.chlorobutadic:ne 2

Analytical Report

VolatiJe Organic: Compounds EPA Mctbod 826M

Units: !IgII. (ppb)

SampleN=: SWI UbCode: K9600327..(J() 1

Oau: Analyad: 1119/96

ND ND ND NO NO ND NO NO NO NO ND NO NO ND NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO . NO NO NO NO

Semce Request: K9600327 Date Collected: 1I17196 Date Recein:d: l/l8.l96

Date EnnlCtrd: NA

SW2 Method Blank K96<J0327..(J()2 K9600327-M]3

-~ 1119/96 1/19196

ND ND ND ND ND ND ND NO ND ND ND NO ND ND ND NO ND NO ND ND ND NO NO NO ND ND ND NO ND NO NO ND NO NO ND ND NO NO ND NO NO NO ND NO NO NO ND NO NO ND ND - NO ND NO ND NO NO NO NO NO

h:!r).:D,:

- roo

AppendixB Letter from Dana Humphrey to Colorado DOT regarding Glenwood Canyon

Project.

•

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

February 4, 1996

Mr. James N. Underwood Colorado Department of Transportation 18500 East Colfax Avenue Aurora, Colorado 800 II

Dear Jim: _r·"

:::;-! 1 JI.. '.~1 dllc.ln ll.dl {JrllT1" .\11: 1)-III1I'.::;-J I

Thank you very much for sending me the" Summary of Fire Investigation Report,· by Glenn P. Violette, dated January 23, 1996, and the preliminary. report by Knott Laboratory, Inc., dated January 12, 1996. I found them very helpful in clarifying the exothermic reaction and subsequent fire that occurred in the recycled tire wall. However, I feel that there is some missing factual data and several unanswered questions that need to be addressed. CDOT and Knott Laboratory may already be addressing these points, but I thought you might find my view on the reports helpful. I suggest that the following be addressed in subsequent reports.

1. A detailed construction time-line would be helpful. In particular, when were the tire chips for Level 6 placed? When was the two foot soil cover and topsoiVcompost mixture placed on the Level 6 tire chips?

2. Several sources I have spoken to have observed that water is critical to initiating, and possibly sustaining, the reaction. Thus, rainfall records are needed. What rainfall events occurred during the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 1995? How far was the weather station from the project? Are there records from several nearby weather stations that could be examined?

3. Was the surface elevation of the bench at the top of Level 6 between markers 622 and 623 lower than the adjacent areas, thus, promoting

. localized- infiltration of precipitation between these markers? Was the elevation lower because of post construction settlement?

4. The Knott Laboratory report notes that two feet of soil was placed on the chips. What was the USCS or AASHTO classification of this soil? What was the plasticity and fines content? Was it pervious enough to readily allow infiltration?

5. Was water added during construction or after. construction to aid m establishment of vegetation?

trNDERWD.OClC

Mr. James N. Underwood Page 2 February 4, 1995

6. Were the tire chips dry or wet at the time of placement? Were the tire chips dry or wet when excavated in November, 1995?

7. Several sources I have spoken to feel that microbes are responsible for the initial exothermic reaction that breaks down the rubber. After the temperatures are increased, other reactions may occur. One reason water is important, is that the microbes need a moist environment to live in and for transport of nutrients. If microbes are indeed a factor, the validity of the Knott Laboratory tests will hinge on whether the test conditions provide the proper environment for the growth of microbes. Thus, the conditions for the Knott Laboratory tests must be clearly documented.

-r·"

8. The topsoillcompost mixture was cited in the Knott Laboratory report as a source of heat. However, if microbes are important, rainwater that infiltrates through the mixture could be a source of nutrients for the microbes. The role of the topsoillcompost mixture should be reexamined in light of this possibility.

9. How thick was the topsoillcompost mixture layer?

10. Was the topsoil hydro seeded or fertilized in some other manner, as these could be other sources of nutrients for the microbes?

11. Knott Laboratory cited geothermal heating as a source of heat for ignition. After Levels 3 through 7 were excavated, were temperature measurements taken in the underlying soil and rock to prove or disprove this hypothesis?

12. Knott Laboratory cited solar radiation as another source of heat for ignition. What is the orientation of the wall relative to true north? Is the wall shaded during some parts of the day?

13. What size tire chips were found near the origin of the fire? What period of time had elapsed between chipping the tires and use in the project? Were the 'source tires old or new? Were the tire chips clean or was there soil or other material mixed with the chips?

14. Had the white wall and non-white wall tires used by Knott Laboratory in the ignition tests been subjected to the heat of the fire? If so, this could have changed the ignition temperature of the tire pieces.

15. Knott Laboratory notes that the conveyors used' to transport the chips could have lead to concentration' of fines in the area between markers 622 and 623. They presented evidence that the fines ignite more easily than larger pieces. Some of the sources I have contacted also feel that fines are a factor. When the area around the fire was excavated, was any evidence of excessive fines observed?

UNDER.W'D.IXX:

Mr. James N. Underwood Page 3 February 4, 1996

I would greatly appreciate it if you could obtain answers to the questions I have raised. They will be very helpful in the investigation I am conducting for the FHW A of an exothermic reaction that occurred in a tire fill in Washington State. Moreover, I feel that CDOT would benefit from the answers to these questions.

In addition, the copy of the report by Knott Laboratory that you sent me contained only the first page of the article in Appendix B. Could you send me the remainder of the article?

Thank you very much for your assistance. I am looking forward to sharing more information as each of our investigations continue.

cc: Richard Cheney, FHW A Nancy Boyd, WSDOT

Sincerely,

~~~ Dana N. Humphrey, Ph.D., P.E. Associate Professor Civil Engineering

U'1iOERWD.DOC

;U!1lUUOnsani) :J xlPuaddy

FHWNWashington State Request For Information on Shredded Tjre FiJIs

The following information has been requested by Washington State and the FHW A consultant to . the project to be included in the FHW A nationwide survey of shredded tire fill sites. This

information will help determine critical factors contributing to the heat-generating reactions observed in the Wasbington State tire fill. FHW A desires to obtain as much information as possible about existing tire embankments as weIl as overall performance data. Please list all tire embankments in your State with the date of construction and date of significant problems. To simplify reporting of the information, the important factors under consideration have been grouped into three categories. Consideration of these items will be valuable to the team considering this problem.

_r'" Rubber Tires:

- categorize the tire fill as steel belted, glass belted, steel and glass mixture, or truck tires - was any magnetic separation of steel belts noted - what was the range of tire particle size - what amount of exposed steel was permitted in tire shreds - what chip producing process (sheared, hammer milled, etc) and supplier was used - the amount of time lapsed between chip processing and placement as fill - was a heat-generating reaction or fire noted in the fill during or after placement

. Construction:

- what was the depth of soil cover on top and side slopes of the shredded tire fiII - is covering soil granular or cohesive? - was a gravel or rock drain placed underneath the shredded tire fIll - what was the tire fill depth • what lift thickness was used in tire fill placement - what method of compaction was used • describe any intermediate layers of geotextiIe, soil, etc. placed within tire fill - was the presence of a catalyst (spilled petroleum products) noted during construction • what was the total volume of chipS/shreds used in the fill

Site Conditions: • what were the water conditions at the time of placement (ponded water in the placement area or water in the tire shreds or were the tire chips wet during placement) and were any portions of the fill to be placed permanently below the water level • what was the weather during fill placement - what is approximate annual rainfall in the fill area

Ifproblems with internal fill heating have been encountered, plan details of the installation would be appreciated. Any questions can be directed to either Richard Cheney in FHWA (202-366-1568) or Nancy Boyd in WashDOT (360-644-8258).

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Tire 'fire under Bllad no't cheap to fix By Peggy Andersen Tha Associated Press

ILWACO, Wash. - What at first seemed like a bril­liant way of gelling rid of mountains of old tires has now f"riven new meaning Lo the old saying about what paves the road to hell.

Two highways repaired with chunks of rubber are smoking and oozing a t.oxic, uily goo that is threatening nearby marshes on the Co~ lumbia Hiver,

Digging the mess out will cost more than $1 million.

The state used the rubber from a million recycled tires in place of rock or gravel to provide 7,000 cubic feet of till when it rebuilt a 150-foot stretch of stale Haute

·100 here in October. The road fllllS atop an

embankment abuve Baker Bay, a pretty inlet at the mouth of the Columbia. Hiver, tucked into the IitLie curlicue at the state's

southwest lip. The first sign of trouble

came in December when asphalt pavement laid over the fill began to crack, split and 6<ive 01T wisps of noxi­ous smoke, with temper­atures' up to 1GO degrees.

Sume of that buried rub bOl' hod started hurning, apparently through natural processes, similar Lo wllaL heals up a composL pil~ And as the rubber heats up, it releDses a goo that oozes to the surface and OOW6

onto the mud nats below, dangerously close (.0 a ~Hltwalcr marsh and freshwater we\londs.

It smells like creosote, with a burned-plastic un­dertone.

And the underground combuslion is generaling toxins such flS benzene, a known corcinogen, said Coast Guard Lt. Hoh Mylelh

Workers at Lhe site must weof p~oteclivemaBks,

In southeastern Wash-

",

inglon, n 300·1'00t strelch of a Garfield County road has been emilting 8lnoke - and even flames - since Janu­ary at Lhe siLe of another repair job late last year thilt used chipped tires.

Botli roads have heen closed. The removal of' the tires may begin [IS e[lriy as lhis week.

"They're going to gu in and take tbe POft tbat's burning oul," said Dana Humphrey al lhe Univer­sity of Moine.

Above-ground Lire fires (Ire not. uncommon - a huge !.ire dUlllp fire in Philadelpbia earlier this monLh damaged flll elevated highway tbat ran over the sile.

nut lhis rubber is un­derground, wilh nol enough ail' 1.0 allow I.:nlJlplete COIll­

Lmstion. "There's never been a lire

fire under a road, There's no history of' methods tu usc," said Joe Zellibor, a

formel' science adviser Lo the Scrap-Tire Management. Council in th" Hubber Manufaclurers Association. lIis expertise is being lnp· ped by state oflicials.

Huute 100 leads to ]/ort Canby Stille Park, where the expedition led hy Meriwether Lewis and Wil­liam Clark renehed lhe Pa­cific in 180:;,

The cleanup IS COIl}-

plicated because eagles are nesling nenrby and hy the spring migrnlion of oeCIIIl­bound salmon fingerlings', sllid biologist Thom !looper or lhe slale Deparlnwnl. of Fish and Wildlife. And salmon spawning will begin in abouL n month.

While there are concerns abuut the errect on the wildlife of .011 of' the heavy equipment and people to he used in the cleanup, there's a sense of urgency because Lhe rubber in euch tire COil·

tains hydrocurbon eOIll'

pounds equivalent to about

a gnlloll or oil. "We're here heclluse there

is potential ror a million­gallon oil spill," said Myles of' the Coast Guard's Suil Frnnciseo-bnsed oil·spill slI:ikc lenm,

IIumphrey, nn civil· cng-ineerill(r professor, is completing a report all the prohlem f'or the Federal llighwny AdministruLion, which h[ls encouraged use of' recycled-Lire materials.

LessoIls learned here will help with future projects, lIulIlphrey said, About 250 million used tires are dis· curded ellch year in lhe UniLed Stntcs, fmd H'we cUn usc U(1 a heek of n loL of' Lires even on- smull projccls," he snid.

lIis report surveyed 70 knowll projects using tire­chip fill.

On Friday, state olncials estimaLed t.he cost of' tire removal and cleanup at $1 million to $3 million.

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The air quailly is 1l1Onilorec!, left, al a basin that is calching the 1J0w 01 dissolving lire goo in Ilwaco.

fill t Road beds made of recycled tires burning, melting By Peggy Andersen A55fJClalp.!J Pless

A millioll recycled lil'e~ were shredded 10 provide 7,000 cubic feCi offtll ill Oclober when Ihe sllll~ repaircd a 150-fool slretch III Washinglon ](JO h~J'e ,IPO\'C Baker Hay al Ihe moulh of lhe (olumhill River, a prel!y inlel lucked into the nUle curlicue al IlJe ~1,llc's suullmest tip.

Now some of the lires arc break­Ill!,! down and (](lllllg (1i1~' gon onlo

fish and Wildlire. Snlmon spawnillg will begin in about a month,

While Ihere arc concerns aboul the intpael of thc heavy equipment and lhe dozens or

bioI ogiS1S, spill experts nnd contrae­hlf~ nl Ihe site, Ihe

the 11l\Jullrlls helo\\', dangerously close In the sall\\"ater marsh and rrcshwuler wei lands al Ihe bollolll of Ihe 50-rnot elllbankmenL

ObseNalions on crisis posed by burning road beds

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Tile !irsl sil!1lS oflrnuble callle in J)el'erllhcr, wEen <l5pl1nll laid ovcr thc fill hegaJlIO crack, splil and cmil 1\ hisps or Iloxiou'i sllloke, wilh lelll­pernhlres IlJllo I fiO degrees.

lncomplelc, sub-surface combus­lion is gcneraling IOxim .~uch as ben­i'l!ne. a known cllf'cillogcll, al Ihe frilCIUl'ed road .~urface, said Cnasl Guard LL Rob l\'lyles. II .~llleJis like creosole, with a burned-plaslic undertone. Workers nl:arby wc:nr protective masks.

'il's kind o( scenic more {/Jan anything else. Like driving through Yellows/one National Park.' - Gerfleld Counly engineer

Mike Sllilvanoll.

'TIIS nation is lookmg al {hiS, say· lng, 'Wow, " because they didn't know anylfl/ng aboul/l. This Is a firs/. Garfield County and us.'-

UT!!enl Jleed 10 TClnDVe Ihe fill and stop the oozing now - e<lch lire eonlains Hbolll a g<llion oroil - is dear.

"We're here because lhere is pOlenlial for a mil· lion-gnllon oil spill," said Myles of the Coasl Guard's Sun Francisco·bascd oil­spill strike team, who expecls the chip removal to take al least a month,

'1:;'" ,

...., ")l;tj1~i\~t'f1/~+ In ~oulhea51 Wflshinglon, a 350-

fnol slrelch or a Garfield Cll\lnlv road has been ernining smoke and cI'en flames since JOimrOlI)' nl lhe sile of anolher repair job lhal used chipped Ii res.

Statll Transporlallon Dl!parlmllnl

IInglnellr Glenn Schnalder, oVl!r~l!l!-

Ingchlp removal at Ilwaco, 6Dld In an Jnlervlaw wJlh The Dally News of

nearby Longview.

'J/would {ake a fo{ of convincing {o

gel us 10 use (ilis malerial again.'-Sial" Trpn5portatroll Departmcnl spoklliman RIck Olson.

That's lhe worsl easc, stale orficials say - and wilh removal orthe lires SCI 10 begin as early us Ihis week, it's unlikely. The p;J!cheJ puns of both roads

hale been clo~cd II'hile ~Iale anu red­eral offici Oils brainslorm II l1h experts in Ihe J O-year-old field of lirc-recy-

"They're going 10 go in nml wke the parlthal's burning

OU1," said Duna Humphrey allhe

A 1 SO-foot streich of road above Ilwaco is cracking and emitting noxious lumes, lower lell, due to hot spots in road-bed lill.

cling <lnd the older skills oflirc-fire!ighling. "Therc's never been a lire-Ore under a road. There's no his~

lorr nfmclhods to Ilse," said Joe ZcJJihorofWnshinglon. D.C., II fonner science advi~cr 10 lhe Scrnp·Tire Mnnagclllenl Council in the Ruhher Manufaclurers Assoeintion, whose expenise is heing Itlppet! hy ~1,lIe offici'lls.

Wnshington JO() leads to ForI Canby Slale P,lrk, where Ihe npedition led by Merrwelher Lewis and WiHiam Clark rencheu the Pacific in 1805. Cleanup lasks are cOinplicaleu by ncsling ellgles and the spring migralion of oce<lll-bound salmon finger­lings, snid biologist Thorn Hooper wilh lite stnte Dep,lf1melll of

Univer.~ily or Maine's Orono campus. Humphrey, tin nssociale civil"engineering professor, is cotllpleling." repon on lite prob­lem for the Federal Highway Administration, which hns encour­aged usc of recycled-tire materials.

Lessons learned here will help wilh fulure projecls, lluluphrey 50io. About 250 million used tires ure discarded elicit yetiI' ill Ihe United Stales.

The oily seepage was deleeted MUTCh 7. On rrid<lY, slate offi­cials were eSlimadng removal ofllle lires nnc! cleanup al between SI million lind S3million,

!!'~ nol known exactly wltlll is Imppening 10 the 4- 10 6-il\cl1 chunks of old tires henenth lhese rnndwavs.

"TIICI'e nrc a 101 or unknowns," said hninrdous-materials spe­ci<llisl Meluny Lee of the slate Transpor1ation Department, slog­ging lhrough lhe lIIlId belo\\' Ihe lire-fill slope.

Pressure, waler, nlicrohes - "you wouldn'llhink they'd Illunch on liTes, butlltey do" - and the lires themselves nrc c{lllloinillg to creale chemical heatl1len.~ureu at up to 160 degrees al erucks ill lhe rofld's surrace nnd likely hovering aroUlHI 45() degrees deep inside the embankmen1.

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Nil IJJ,i1 dalc h\l,~ heen ~~t illlile (,-year 'Illd ('lise :md legal hills ~'I1Il-1I1I1Il' III pile 11[1 ullhc raIl' 111".'55.9 milllllll PI:)" yen!'.

I laulillti lil!' fl1\1l' decudes made plutoniulll fur nuclear wcn)1nn~ and, c,~pecil1!ly in il~ early yctrrs, released large ljlluntilies of r,uli(lat:lil'iIV inlll tllc ellvir{lJIlnellt. The 5(IO-S{juilre Illilc sile is near Ihe Tri-Cilics.

Thousllnds o(pcllple who lived dll\\'llwirulllf lIre rc~cr\'lltion havc sued in federnl cOllrt, contending lheir hcallh was damaged by the release.~.

The origiual defendants wcre Du]1onl. I\IIar1lic Richfield I Inurni'll CIl" Itnekwell Ilanford Cn .. \lnited NUcle,rr, nrHI Wl'siinghlillsc 11:11Ifol"<I Co. We.~lil1gh(1lJ.~l', the current leder­al contraclol', ha~ since he en dropped fHlm Ihe lawsuit.

Slelllhridgc said the money heiug spelll on legal fees would hll\"(' heen enough 10 set lip med­ical moniloring lind nrdirnenlary heaf1h Cjue for people \\"ill1 Ihyroid disease ,uHlllthcr problems that could he linked !II rudiillion releas­es.

Slemhriclgc ,\Iso contends tIre legal hills conSlllne lllOJ1CY lhal could be spellt on cleaning up lite huge volulllc or radioactive waste !llllartford.

"[t's fl double Irngetiy," Slembridge .~aid. "Nobody is being bclpcd by this."

She c()nlerrd.~ the governrnellt is spending sOl1llleh 10 Jightlhe cnse hccJluSC iI doe~ tmt wnnlto he held respunsihle f(lr {lalTmging the health orpcople wi\{] lived umuml \VcapOll.~ plan Is aJl over the na!ioll ..

"Tlds is not just nllDui Ilunl"nrd," Slcmbri{lge sllid. "1L'i: <l1.~o aboul Rocky Flats, the Nevuda Test Site and all the ull\:. crs."

Taxpayers pay lhe legal costs nlr lhe maior corporations under a deal in which Ille /cueral govern­menl ilrranged 10 pay Iiliglllinfl c{1.~ls fOf cOlllpnnies thaI lIl<lde pl\l­toni urn, (Jne orlhe deadliest malc­nals [J1l [nnlt.

"It's nil incredillie injustice thnt we IH.I(payers have to pny for the defense elf the very people who harmed ll~," said L()i~ ClllllP or LaCrosse, a plailltilfillthe lawsuit.

Tile govenllllent-paid Inwyei's "gel 10 sperHllcns of millions, while we sernpe by tln<i usc Ire­qucul-il ier coupons," nile al10rllcy r"r .1,,, oI"'-"" ...... ,, .. I,·r" ~,,',I

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WllrK ill "~~I;;iJllli;lg 'tilt-up style ougli Hospital Oil Kodiak island ill precast cunci etc clIllSlructiofl willi Alaska; and a number uf sllJaller

sLJualt;-IUllllellllldt.:.l ut SCVL:II IllJII\;, gl""iIJ I., "'"'' •.• " I""""'"

of tllc Sealirst Towcl' i'ur tlit; SDL IvIcCatlliy's iUIII!C," t· pll~,.d,k dl;qWI'"

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By l'EGGY ANlJEHSEN Associated Press Writer

IL WACO, Pacific COIlllly (AP) - 11 soullt.Jcd like a gooJ iJcH at Ihe tillle - let:yclillg SOllie of Amcrica's billiollS of used tires by chopping tilCIII lip for ]'lwtlbed 1111.

But two I'Omls repaireJ with Ihe material ill Washingtun state give new mcaning to IIiat oltl saw about .the road to llell being paved with guod intentions. These roads look and slllell as though they are paved-over subterranean lires -perhaps because they arc. . A milliun rccycletl tile.'! Were

shredded 10 proviue 7,000 cubic feet or fill in October whcn the stale repaired a ISO-foot stretch of Washingtoll J 00 here above Baker Bay at the lIIuuth of the Columbia River.

Now sume uf the tires afe break­ing Jown anJ oozing oily goo onto the Illudflats below, dangerously close to the saltwater marsh ant..! rresliwnter wetlands at the bottom of tile 50~rO{)1 embankmcnt.

Thc first signs uf trouble callie in December. when asphalt lakl over the fill began tu crack, split nnJ emit whisps uf noxious smoke, with temperatures up to 160 degrees.

Incolllplete, sub-surface combus­tiull is generating toxins such as

. benzene, a knowll' carcinogen, at

tile fructured rouu surface, suiu CoaSl Guard Ll. Rub Myles. It smells like creosote, with a burned-plastic undertone. Workers nearby wear protective musks.

In southeast WashillglulI, a 350~ fool streich of a Garfield County road l}Us been emitting smoke anJ even flumes since January at the site of anuthet repair job that used chipped tires. I

The patched parts of both roads have been closed while state and federal officials brainstorm with experts in the IO-year-old field of tire-recycling aull the oluer skills of tire-lirefighting.

"There's never been a tire-lire under a road. There's no history of methods to use," said Joe Zellibar of Washington, D.C., a former sci­ence adviser 10 the Scrap-Tire Mun­agement Council ill the Rubber Manufacturers Association, whose expertise is being tapped by state ofllcials. .

Washington IOU leads to FOil Canby Slate Park, where the expe­dition led by Meriwether Lewis ami William Clurk reacheu the Pacific in 1805. Cleanup l1Isks are compli­cateJ by nesting, eagles anJ the spring migralion lof ocean-bound salmon fingerlings, said biologist Thol11 Hooper ,with the stale Department of fidl and Wildlife. Sulmon spawning will begin ill about a l1Iollth.

While there nrc COllcel'llS abuut the impact of tile heavy equipment and the doz.ens of biologists, spill experts and contractors at the site, the urgent need 10 relliove the fill and slop the oozing Ilow - each tire contains about a gallon.of' uil - is clear.

"We're here because there is po­tential for u million-galloll oil spill," saiu Myles or Ihe Coast Guard's SUIl Francisco-buseu oil~ spill strike tealll, who expects the chip removal to take at least a mOllth.

That's the worst case, Slale offi~ cials SilY - anu wilh !'cIJluval of the tires set to begin us early as this week, it's unlikely.

"They're going to go in anJ take the part that's burning out," suiu Dann Humphrey at the University of Maille's Orollu campus. HUllIphrey, un assuciate civil~ell~ gilleering professor. is completing a report on the problem for the red­enll Ilighway AUllIinistralioll, which has ellcouruget.! use uf recy­cielHire lIIaterials.

Lessolls learued here will help with future projects, IIulilphrey said. About 250 willion used tires arc lIiscarded each year ill the United Stules, ant..! "we CUll usc up a heck of a 101 or tiles even 011

small projects," he said. The oily seepage wns JetecteJ

March 7. On Friuuy, state officials

/ /

/'

were estilllating removal of the tires am.! cleanup at belWeel) $1 milliull alld $3 million.

IL's lIot known exactly what is happenillg to the 4- 10 G-illch chunks of old tires beneath these roadways.

"There arc a lot or unknowns," saki haz.ardous-materials specialist Melany Lee of the state Tnmsporta­lioll Department, slogging through the lIIUJ bctow the lire~fill slope.

But it appears the process is a lut like what happells in a compost pile, she said.

Pressure, water, JIlicrobes "you woulJn't think Ihey'ulIHlIlch on tires, but they uo" - lIlId the tires thelllselves are combining (0

create chemical heat measured at up to 160 degrees at cracks ill tile roaJ's surface ami likely hovering arounJ 450 degrees deep inside the elnbankinellt.

Humphrey, who visited the Il­waco and Garfield County sites last munth, offered a range of uthel' possible factors:

- Heal generated by the rusting of wire frulll stcel~belted rollinl

tiles. I'vlagllets call' he used lu remuve the wile I'IIHII chipped tires.

- Sul!'uric acid, a Jlossible uy­Pioulict from bacterial urc:.Ikuown uf tiles contailling sulfur.

- AllY spill or petl'OleulII prou­ucts uuring cOIl.'i1l'uctioll could have attracted bacteria that eat~ such ma­terial. NUll ienls needed by these bacterin likely were providetl when the ell1hnnklllel1l was sprayeJ with grass secd and felli1i7.er.

- Org"lllic lIlaterial was placct.! dilcctly atop the tire fill at 1Iwaco, which creates lI10re acidic cOIH..ii· liuns. Mineral soils ur silt cuulJ elise thnl pmhlclII.

Depth also is npparclltly all issue. At IIwacu, chipped tire.s are piled to a maximuJII depth of 27 feet Oil a II-fOOL gravel bcu, topped wilh 3 tu 5 fcel of soil. III Ciarlkkl County, where the repair il1volveu a gully, the tire layer is abulIl45 feCi deep.

The ollly other repon of a heal reactiull calllc ill October frulll Col­orado, where tires wen! u.~eJ <\5

backfill behind a 70-fuUI-high wall alollg Interstate 70 in Glenwood

(Cuutinlleu un I'age 15, Column 7)

REACH THE MARI<E'hAdvertise for Subs . . . .. ,' .. CaU()22c8272 Tciday • . .

~[1J~D~~[Q)~ , , .

.. . [g1~@[UJ~~~[~[Q}.

SUB-BIDS REQUESTED FOR 112TH STREET EAST/18TH AVENUE EAST TO WALLER ROAD - CRP #5138 and 5455 Bid Date: Marcil 29, 1996 at 1 :00 pm

('01"'1"'<> nti I nl"'

:- ~'"-. -=-1 D!s:> .. ~ .. ~-. ;'. :.L'..:,· ·o_~59 ':lo::n pro so::: Pro so::. [ ~icGlo~ Di;s. I1o.""':ll"d F Mom.:l ~ . .:l_.MQ-4 Mdvm M.:lU11.:lS S.:lyre. Monta.. :-,..1;ltt,

.,; _" Annulrne·nt-lnv::Uidiry. Ann ...(J_~ 1 - ohertY. Pro se; Pro se. b v SImon D. M.:lrJ Amundson v -02462-1 D!ss.' . .mund50n. Pro se: Pro se. _02463-9 Diss. Eva Forgacs v T.:llTl.:l.S _ Pro se: Pro se.. . . _O'Z.u5J-i Diss. Lon A F::uner v Jon­P f;urier. Pro se; Pro ,e. -02465-5 Diss. Anthony V Sr ; v Janet L Mob\t=y. John Fr.l.w\t=y;

-02466-3 Diss. Kristine E Buns v BurtS. Glenna Spitzer Hall; Pro se. -02467-1 Diss. Manhew Rizzo v Li S 'avid L. Crump; Li S Chen_ ,-02468...(J Sep Mainl. Vyonne~ S Eo­.tuk K Ebbit!. Pro se; Pro se. :-02469-8 Diss. Barbar.J. L B:llia v W Balla Rita HClTer:l, Irvin; Pro se. 1-02470-1 Diss. Julie A Shanebrook v [Sh:mebrook. John T. Zilavy; Pro se. 1-02471-0 Diss. Eva M:uti.nez v Luis .c:z. Pro se: Pro se. \-02472-8 Diss. Marilynn M Wilson v ~ Wilson. Pro se; Pro se. ~-O2473-6 Diss. Jeanie M Sonnenfc:ld :ne D Sonnenfeld. Pro SI:; Pro se. 3-02474-4 Se:p Mrunt. Gail A McKin-10Ward C McKinzie:. Pro se; Pro se. 3-02475-2 Diss. Kathryn A Schulz v s P Schulz. Samud Jr. Ciap::mn3: Pro

3-02476-1 Diss. Cui P 'Gilmon:: v n J Gilmore. Pro se: Pro se. 3-02477-9 Diss. Lawrence J Guevara y L Guevar:l.. Pro se; Pro se. 3-D2478-7 Diss. Dr.l L Glassey v J Glassey. Jeffrey Cyrus Mirsep::J.5Y:

'3-02479-5 Diss. Donna J Davidson v : A Davidson. Gayle Twining MeEl­'ro se:.

Filed :\farclI 26 ·3-02480-9 Diss. Jon P H3Iri v Leona L . Pro se: Pro se. ·3-02482-5 Diss. lohn D Pai v Connie litz. Lynn Penix Barke~ Pro ;e. . -3-02483-3 Diss. John D P:u v Connie -utz. Lynn Penix Buke~ P:o se:. -3-02434-1 Diss. Jed W J::mnsen v el A J;umsen. Pro se: Pro 5e. -3-02485-0 Diss. loan S Walker v Ithy D Walker. Pro 5e; Pro se. -3-02486-8 Diss. Teresa A Loc!dlm v 1en L Lockhart. Pro se: Pro sc. 6-3-02487-6 Diss. Cynthia A Lacy v Ed­I G Lacy. Kathleen R. Sande.""S; Pro se. 6-3-02488-4 Diss. Diane G 'andowski v Ravmond A Sr ,andowski. IG1hleen R. S::mde.--:s: Pre se. 6-3-Q2489-2 Di.5s. Gfen A He.:t.therington lS::m M He::tlherington. Pro sc: Pro se. 6-3-02490-6 Diss. TIierese M E-i:ckson y rey D Erickson. Pro ie": Pro se. '6-3-02491-4 Diss. judith E Boice v old L Boice. Wm Ralph Levinson; Pro

16-3-02492-2 DiSS~~pril L Brawn v -en L Brown. Pro se': Pm se. 16-3-02493-1 Diss:.,.Knthy A Smith v 1Il R Anderson. Pro sc; Pro se. !6-3-02494-9 Diss. Bonnie· B Burke.s v "J L Burkes. Ruth A. Warner. Pro se. i6-3-02495-7 Diss. Timothy S Loveless v ieri Lovekss. S3I"Jb·· Eiiubeth Block.i; leri Lovdess. ;16-3-02496-5 Diss. Jeffrey J Taton v lily E T::uon. Pro se: P:u se. ?6:3-02497-3 Diss. Juaniu K Cousineau \favne F Cousineau. Pro se; Pm se. 96:3-02498-1 Dis5. Ju~ita K Cousineau Vavne F Cousine.:lu. Pm 5e: Pro se. 96:3-0::!A99-0 Diss .. l..nn C Sle'ler v Robt )Ie:ve:r. Pro se: Pro 5~.

PROBATE Filed :\farCh 21

96-+01293-6 Esute. Edna L K:!!sey. E.-ic .!:shall Bunerwonh.

FlIed Msrch 2S 96-4-01323-1 Estate. CUlton V Weller. ;hard M. HolL 96-4-01324-0 WilL J::s L Tnomoson. 96--4-01325-8 Estate. Gr-c~ F Rice. Ken­th Fred Bramet. ~<:_..!_'"l1~-.c_ . .:: ~.:!~.:~. Wlhe:i::= ~ f"c",_

TRJ - Tr:105 JtJg::-.;::

Filed M:trch 20 96-9-0i683-5 St:lte v Stange eLmO

522.900. VER . 96-9-07i99-8 McCoy v McCoy

51.500, DOM. Filed i\ofan:h 21

96-9-07629-1 S[:J.{e v Fr.lIlZ et::mo 5700, PAT.

96-9-07630....i State v Hcemline et::mo -51.990. PAT.

96-9-0763142 State v \\l1ite: et::mo -52.300. PAT.

96-9-0763:2-1 Stale v Huynhn etano -51.800. PAT.

96-9-07633-9 St:lle eLmO v Liles et.:t.! -5720. PAT.

96-9-07795-5 Fast Mgrnnt Group Inc v M:utio -55,118. GEN.

Filed March 2.:!. 96-9-07634-7 Student Loan Marketing

Assoc v Peters - 51.795, TRI. 96-9-07635-5 Ykk USA Inc v Gre:nhill

Inc - S1.791, TRl. 96-9-07636-3 Jones Automotive Engines

Inc dba v Scon db3- SIAM. TRI. 96-9-07637-1 H.ul Check Six v Ry::m

etnno - 51.606. TRJ. 96-9-07638-0 Cirn Inc v Fagafa e:~o -

Sl,241, TRJ. 96-9-07672-0 Kennedy v Wallace e:tal­

$220,275, GEN. 96-9-07673-8 M.mila v Watchie:

58,381, ThfV. 96-9-07674-6 Crinks v Lemeke

54,996. Th1V. 96·9-07675-4 BI:lckhorse-Vonje.ss· v

Blackhorse-vonjess - 59.184. DOM. 96-9-07676-2 HC:lth v Boltz - 53.802,

DOM. 96-9-076i7-1 Keller Supply Co v Hess

et:Ll - 55.076. GEN. 96-9-07678-9 Gonz:t!ez v Gonz:t!e:z: -

55,683. DOM. 96-9-07679-7 Virtual Vision Inc v Virrual

Image Dispbys Inc - S::'30.119, GE:'1. 96-9-07680-1 L::md Ol:!.kes Inc v Debeer

etano -521,806, GCN . 96-9-D7681-9 Johnson v Johnson -

51.250, DaM. 96-9-07682-7 lobs v Jobs - 528.000,

DOM. 96-9-07684..3 Burrell nb v Burrell -

5:2.599, DOM. 96-9-07685-1 Bard et:lllo v Pittsburg

Corning Corp et:JJ -: 5636.080. GE.:'I. 96-9-0/793-9 W!Z:J.rri & Co Inc v Savon

C:rroe!.S etano - 5 I ,361. TRJ. 96-9-07i94-7 Shaw e!:ll1O v Pittsburgh

Corning Corp et.:!..l- 564-1-,515: GEN. 96-9-07806-4 Rab::mco ReglOnall...:t.ndfili

Co dba v Anderson db3 elal - 51.692, GEN.

96-9-0i807-2 R3b::mco Regional Landfill Co dba v Fonua dba etal - 52.625. GS.

96-9-D7810-2 WA St4Ue L&l v Diamond Bldg Srvcs - 514,982. TAX.

96-9-07861-7 WA Sl:!.te L&l v Roofing E:uerprises Inc.- 55,729. TAX.

96-9-07862-5 WA Sl:!.te L&1 v Fire One Inc - S2.196. TAX.

96-9-07863-3 WA St.:ue L&I v Sweet dba - S299. TA-X.

96-9-07864-1 WA St:lte L&I v Colston dba - S983. TAX.

96-9-07865-0 WA St.:JIe L&l v Nelson etanodba-S14,617, T.~"'(.

96-9-0i866-8 WA SUte L&l y M:JIkus dba-53.052. TAX ...

96-9-07867~6 WA Sl:!.te L&I v Famco TrnnsponInc-510,3i2, TAX.

96-9-07868-4 WA Sl:!.te L&1 v W:JId dba - S25.267, TAX.

96-9-07869-2 WA SCne L&I v Kent Con-tr.:J.cting Srvcs Inc -51.269. TAX. .

96-9-07870-6 WA State L&l v Kltchen ResryUng Crr Inc dba- 52.811, TAX.

96-9-07875-7 WA St.:JIe L&l v Johnston Cancre:e Canst - S6,2~5. TAX.

96-9-078i6-5 WA State L&I v R.:lwson dba-S".712. TAX.

96-9-07877-3 WA Sure L&l v fosrer dba -5960, TAX.

96-9-07878-1 WA Sla!e L&I v Lindblad dba - 5280. TAX.

96-9-07879-0 $t:lle Emolov S(!C v D.stle -S2.937, TAX. . -

96-9-07880-3 State Employ S<!c v Jenkins -53.9.15. TAX.

96-9-07384-6 Hsc Real Est;lte Inc db v C-!;:~i::".:::-::11;1 '!l::!.nr. - -:;:.: on. c:::::-:.

96-9-0iB02·1 S.unsbury v L:uon:::;n 51.130. GEN.

96-9-07803-0 Southm.:t.rk MIg CDrp of America nb v Elmore et:JJ - sun. GEN.

96-9-07304-8 Wright v Wright - 51.400. DOM.

96-9-01805-6 Macn v Macri - 523.476. DOM.

96-9-07308-1 P:mon v Stephens -S 10.563. Th[V.

96-9-07809-9 Ingnm Micro Inc v Hyper­view Inc dba - S39.58~, GE:'-i.

96-9-07322.6 Cirn Inc v ludd e::J.nO dba - 55.,r29. TRJ.

96-9-07852.8 WA SUle L&I v Bachelder eIMlO dba - 5356. TAX.

96-9-07353~6 WA Slate L&J v Flynn De· sign Assoc Inc dba - 5236. TAX.

96-9-07854-4 St;ue Rev v Pie:.:e euno -5936. TAX.

96-9-07855-2 WA Stale: L&t v Johnston Concrete Canst dba - 58.773. TAX.

96-9-07856-1 WA SUle L&! V Fc:.:J.St Rus­sia Inc - 5190, TAX.

96-9-07857-9 WA Sl:!.le L&I v Russell e!:ll1O dha-S5.378. TAX.

96-9-07858-7 WA Sl;l1e L&I v Jones dba. -5303, TAX.

96-9-07859-5 WA St.:lte L&1 v Jones dba -S431, TAX.

96-9-07860-9 Gallt Enterprises Ltd et.:t.no v Le-S2,53I,TR1.

96-9-07871-4 WA State L&I v Cadence Design Systems Inc - 53,772. TAX.

96-9-07872-2 WA Sl:!.te L&I v Rw Str.mg Me:chnnical Inc - 510.046, TAX.

96·9-07873-1 W A St;ue L&I v Scurlock Lorenz & Roose:n dba-S189. TAX.

96-9-07874-9 PtanlScapes Inc v Stone etano - 51.544. TRJ.

96-9-07881-1 Stale Employ Sec v Schule:r Acquisition Corp - 53.494, TAX.

96-9-07882-0 Rtw Fund v Turner -52.273. ThfV.

96-9-07883-8 Allied Group Inc v H::mson etano-Sl,091, GEN.

96-9-07891-9 Sre Real Estate Fund dba v Breakey et::mo - 5959. GEN.

Managing stress (Continued from P:lge Thre::)

the media. For this reason the thought of changing fields cre::ltes a stab of terror in-ouT hems, because "how could I support my family?" Therefore we do not try.

Social Adages and Facile Jus~ tifientions. Our society is rife with certain savings which lock us into place and -ke;p us from overcoming the stress of career change:

• "It's a lousy job, but I cry 011 the way to the bank.·' This line al­ways strikes an undercurrent of feeli:qg which is rampant in our society, because about 90 percent of OUT workforce do not like what they are doing.

• "After all, I do get two days off a week and a vacation once a ye:l[." This is an easy way to justi­fy purting up wim a painful sirua­tion.

o "My bosses are terrible, but I do enjoy the work." As a c:.rreer consultant, I've heard this slate­ment several hundred times.

Education. The schooling: we have had (or have not had) cornrib­utes to c::JIeer-change stress in two different ways: -

• "You ·co.n't do well in your c:rreer without a college education, at least a bachelor's de!ITee." This could Ylell be listed as a social adage, or as a self-fulfilling proph­ecy.

• "Den't throw.;::.way ~h::. money

_ S":.'}Ci, 1;":\ 90-9-13861·1 Sear.; Roebuck & Cu

Moor: - S766. TRJ.

Tire-fill (Continued from Page Four)

Canyon. The re:1ction stopped when the upper part of the fill was removed, said Humphrey, who sur­veyed the 70 known projects using tire-chip fill for his report.

The state Tran!'iportation Depan­ment also used chipped-tire fill at five smaller repairs on U.S. 101 near Cosmopolis, abom 40 miles north of here. No problems have been reported and the depth of the chipped-tire layer - ranging from 10 to 15 feet - is considered a likelv factor, Lee said.

It's not clear what will happen when the ilwaco slope is opened up.

"We're not concerneJ about ex­plosion, but we could have .open flame," Lee said_

"We're not talking very vola­tile," said Eric Reinitz, southwest regional spill-response supervisor for the state Department of Ecol­Ogy.

-An earthen berm is being built at the foot of the slope to contain whatever escapes from the sire when work begins to remove the recvcled tires.

'~We'll know a lor more next we:::k when we try p.:el.ing the rub­ber off," said Glenn Schneider, the stare DOT engineer overseeing removal of the materials'.

So far, oil flow at the site has been contained. A drainpipe at the· foot of the embankment had oozed 900 gallons of oil by Monday, drip­ping it into three containment basins.

A makeshift road down the 38-degree slope, built by a bulldoze, secured with a winch, was com­pleted over the weekend. It is being used to haul out recovered oil and bring in equipment for building: the berm, said principal engineer Gary Horvitz with Hart Crowser of Seat­tle, the main contractor. The pias­tic-lined berril, 11 feet hi2:h with a capaciry of 65,000 gallons, is· in­te~ded to provide backup for wi1Ste trenches and ensure no oil esc::J.ces into the bay in a heayy rain. -

A 6,OOO-gallon storage tank has been placed on site to hold wasIe matter, and an additional 21,000-gallon tank is on standby, offic:al;; said Monday.

Removed materials will be t:l.ke:1 to a nearby quarry and sand for reuse, and for solid-and hazardo!..!s­waste disposal, Horvitz said.

IRA (Continued from P.:lge Three)

from retirement, ievels echoed by InanY other financial advisers.

Pond offers a simple asser alloc::J.­tion calculation: "Subrrac[ your a2:e from 11 a and thar would be the min.::n;.JY":: -::er·:~:;1t:l!!·:: tr.::ll should be

Burning up the road literally By Sigmund J. Mikolajczyk

P~"'i~!J1 w~su - A recycling pro­Jed gone awry hns genl!r;Jted w(Jrld· ... ,ide publicity for n setlllHl (Jfrandw;Jy out.side Pomeroy.

The rO;Jd. which winds through 0 rurn.l Washington ar· ea. was huilt an 0 substrate made p<lrtially with S~n:1p tire ~hips. The chips have caught lire, creating smoke thut esc:lpes through the pavement crocks.

MIt stinks like burned rubber,~ said CI:lY BnlT, director of emer­gency services for Garfield County, where the roadway is.

Mike Selivanol!, the county's only engineer, gets :I bit steamed himself about reports on wh:ll hus become his prob­lem. MWe do not have a road an fire,~ he lIaid. '"There's just no telling what kJnd of embellish­ments the media hns made out ofthis.~

The 350-f001 stretch of road­wav was built over n filled-in 50'-fool-deep ravine.

In the fall of 1994, the county began colleeLing some 9,500 cu­bic yaros of scrap lire chips, each about four by eight inches in size, from the WnshingUln De­partment of Ecology.

One variety, shredded in 0

h"mmermiIl, still contained the nylon cords n.nd steel belts.

"'They would nol compact well, were more springy nnd tougher to hn.ndle," Selh'unoff saId.

And, when used 10 fill the T::J..

vine. the tire shr~ds lell a lot of air pockets. So the county asked the Department of Ecology for a denner·looking chip wlthoul I!X'

pOf;~d "ords or wire.s. The rO:ldwuy, in thl! ~t..:lte·s

southellstern curner, W:lS ~om­

pic ted last May, replocing a h:mpin tum that was difficult for wide farm machinery. Only 10 to 20 vehicle~ travel it dady.

Underneath its surface. aug­mented by !;Tavel and 1ol'soll, went :In eSLimnted half million shreddl!d scrap tires used U5 fill in the ravine ond roudbed.

Then in August 1995, nilsh nooding crl!uted a 20-foot.deep lake behind the road fill. Thllt's whl!n the trouble began.

SelivanofT hypothesi;::ed the water staned II chemical mac· ~ion. accelerating rusting or ex_ posed steel in the tire chips. The orid"lion process generated heat in the pockets of air between the chips. possibly igniting them.

Now st~nm rises rrom cmcks in the road. At least one comp­Iire-si;::ed pocket of nama is on :In embankmenl near llw ro· vine's botLom. WIt can he nlann· ing to some motorists." he snld.

A month ngo. the county's wumed fire chier urdered the re­mute road closed :lnd the old sec­tion reopened.

SWltl! and county officials mel Feb. 9 to discuss solutions. hut Seli\'anofT snid they're lenning tow:lrd using the situntion as n le:lrning experience.

"We tend to fn ... or seeing this lchemic;1!1 !'endlon through to I its conclusion .... Lo sae wh:lt I

hypnJduCL<; com,· (Jut of It. such nl< Icm;hute,; nnd other com­pounds." he stud. "Then we can quantiry them. see how much there 15 and Ivhnt temperatures we hav!! - then W(l'1l know a whol~ lot mor-e ahoullt."

He's guessing it will take 18 to 2~ months before the reaction peaks and the chips eventually hurn themselves oul. Worst-cnse scenario: The county would hove I.Q remove the material.

Hut UthcI1!'s nothmg wrong

with driving Olcr05S a mad lhal'~ "<lotiog .'IlNlm out the ~ide5: s .. · Ih-"ooff Naid, "We Just need to keep adding gr;!vel fill:

The county hll5 heen bu.'v rin. ing that 51~CI! a section or the road begnn .'Ielllim,:.

Meanwhile, beclluse of Lhe publicity, he has receivell ou­menlO.':! calls - lind sU!igesLed solutions - from experts fnmil­iilr with tire chips.

He acknowledges that Lhe county's road problem Clm be a

" .. nSI~lV" I~SU{, wIth people who "nm'l tou sophisL1cated.

OLhers underslond the ~oun­:~"s mtentions. "To 0 lot of pen· pi ... like 'Lree hur;ger-s' who recy· de. thl'Y know shredded llres =n be usmi.w Se!h'onoiT lmid.

~If I cun get by Lhe po1ilician~, I'd do this again. pllrlkularly if the lshredded tirel m<lteri<ll is f~ - und it u,ually is,~ he S:lid. ~lt·s a good use, but not ev­eryone in the whole world 3-hares my opinion. ~

As for It bemg a Lour;Sl attrac­tion. he admilLed at Limes Wyou c<ln'l see thmugh the SlC<lrll. il's kind of scenic more than nnv­thing el~e, Like dn ... inj:! through Yellowstone Nationall'<Irk,"

But Seli ... anorr is reluct.ant to s<ly anythmg too lighthearted. fearing the medio will m"ke it look like the county isn't Wlking the muller senously.1I

Miko/a/Cs.7k IS a reporler With Crain CommunicatIOns' Tire Busmess.

N BODY RAN OR

KED, D

A selE,

UNTil Floors stood still until HALLCO

made one that moved. And that was just the first step. Since then,

the company has always been a step ahead. It introduced the fIRST aluminum deck so trailers could carry more load. The FIRST hydraulic drive built to be maintenance free. The FIRST overlap leak· resistant deck specially designed for waste. And the company is FIRST in customer satisfaction.

The next time you order noors for trailers or stationary conveyors, call the company that refuses to s-rand still. The one that invented an industry. And revolutionized yours.

Fax or call (or your complimentory video. Complete bid spedficotions available, 100.

HALLCO FLOOR SYSTEMS 1I·!WUj'-BllltJliiljjhil\iuili

50 Cents 96TH Year - No. 15

BRETT POWERS photo .

An Ilwaco volunteer firefighter sprays water near a smoldering mound of shredded tires burning under­ground on SR100 between Ilwaco and Cape Disappointment. EHorts to remove the burning material are continuing this week. . .

Hot spots occupy SRIOO crews By AMY WOLD

Observer staffwriter

IL W ACO--Crews at the smol­dering section of SRI 00 between Ilwaco and Cape Disappointment continued removing material and isolating hot spots in the road on Monday while news media from around the nation crowded about to take pictures.

Two hot spots, one on the north and one on the south side of the road, have been identified and on Monday crews started the work of trenching around these spots to iso­late the firp<:: Aftpr hnt <mots are

4,300 gallons of oil removed so far the material from these areas and cooling it bucket by bucket.

Dr. Joseph Zelibore was brought in as a consultant on the road because of his experience with tire fires. However, he added these kinds of fires with the tire chip fill are Uncommon since there have been only two fires out of ahout 70 applications of the fill. Both fires are located in Washington.

Although Zelibore didn't want to speculate on why or how the smoldering tire chips ignited. he said the previous theory that it may

• • '. _1

belts 'reacting with ground water doesn't seem likely. He said that another similar situation occurred at a tire chip pile after the pile was saturated with water with two weeks. of rain but those tires had the metal taken out of them.

Public information officers from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Ecology are on hand at the site to guide media through safety precautions and fur­nish information. Safety regula­tions have gotten tighter in the past

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few weeks and now in addition to signing in and out of the area, any­one entering the area must read and sign a half-inch-thick document on safety precautions and dangers.

However, Zelibore said the air quality mqnitoring is on-going and levels· of chemicals have not risen, although now there are certain areas forbidden to anyone without training and a respirator.

The clean-up crew ·is expecting so many people from the media that they are recommending park­ing in a lot at Fort Canby State Park and taking a Pacific Transit System shuttle bus to the site.

As of Friday morning last week, 4,292 gallons of oil had been col­lected at the site, while water dis­charged from the tire pile has been routed to storage tanks. WSDOT is stockpiling the water and is using it to mist the chips during removal. Wben the project is finished, the water will be treated before it is released, and it may be taken off­site for treatment

Approximately 3,000 gallons of oil have been taken to Oil Re­Refining, an oil recycler in Portland. A site for the soon-to-be-

excavated tire chips has not been found yet.

On Thursday night, 105 tons of asphalt concrete pavement was removed from the tire chip fill area and taken to Lakeside Industries in Longview. After the asphalt was removed, surface temperatures dropped from 90 degrees to 67 degrees Farenheit. Crews then removed three and a half feet of crushed rock with the highest recorded temperature of 140 degrees Farenheit.

On Sunday night, April 7, there were some flames at the site when the top layer of asphalt was removed but the fire was controlled with the help of the Ilwaco Volunteer Fire Department.

"Wben they took off the road, it helped remove another level of

. insulation," said Zelibore. This released heat which caused some flames. However, he added, seeing flames at the site is not such a bad thing since tires burn cleaner when they burn hotter.

There is a fire hydrant installed in the area and the Ilwaco Volunteer Fire Department is at the site as a precautionary measure.

RV S Continued from Page 1 started the petition. Reitz owns a house behind one of the two parks out of compliance and currently being cleaned up. She said that the petition was a last resort after more than a year of frustration. Until the petition started circulating. nothing was being done.

Reitz described open drug use, domestic violence, failing septic systems and junk accumulation around RVs as problems that have grown up in the past few years. When she bought her home, the RV park was well kept and there were few problems, she said.

"We're forced to move because nothing was being done," Reitz said. :'It's getting better. Sure, any­body can see that, but three months from now it could be the same thing. It can't be "Just do whatever you want"; there have to be some rules."

Reitz has collected close to 100

in good enough condition to be moved.

However, the parks need to rec­ognize that their license is a privi­lege, not a right, said Bryan Harrison, county director of com­munity development. RV parks can ha ve as many as 20 spaces per acre-six times as many as mobile home parks. Harrison admitted. however, that there were no RV park inspections for a year, which allowed problems to grow. Also, money for enforcement it tight

"If you can't enforce the exist­ing laws, how can you expect to enforce a new one?" asked Mike Cassinelli.

Many of the other RV park owners said that although they've had many permanent residents over the years, they have rarely had any problems with them. They shared their various strate­gies for getting rid of people who lnnked like they would ·become

THE CHINOOK OBSER\

HOSPITAL forced to resign. A single stalen' summed up the feelings of crowd: "Something is wrong her

It may be difficult to find what, however. After Ben resigned two weeks ago, a trai confusion surrounded his depan As with any instance when thel a vacuum of information, rumor worry took over.

Some of that confusion cleared up, or at least some d, was added.

Yes, said hospital commisil Lynn Ryan, he did tell Bender "we discussed problems and I maybe he would like to cons resigning."

Yes. said commissioners F and Teri Dodson, they did together and confer with alto Doug Albright the night befor, March 19 meeting without any lic notification.

No, those "meetings" weren' gal, asserted Leslie Pesterfield. is acting as the district's new ney. After reading portions ( state law on the matter, Peste said that this conference Albright did not have t6 complo the state Open Meetings Act be technically it was not a "meetin,

Albright said in an intervie" week that he advised the cor sioners on what needed to hap' the next day's meeting reg: the contracts. The law provic elected officials to get lOget confer with their attorney, he :

The meeting was not aClL meeting because there was n· cussion" or "action." There "­"exchange of concern" and a ing of ideas" with the attorn legally these things do not co; a meeting, he claimed. The there is no need to notify the of even a closed door execmi sian since the board "memo together on hospital business not really "meet," he said.

Unfonunately, this fe't ( semantics seemed lost crowd.

A number of questions $1.:

ed the issue of how often tt met to discuss 'these proble why Commissioner Don B not included. Hall said he WOO

to the non-meeting meeting, , advised by then hospital dis"·

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