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{{short description|Small body of water used for disposing pollutants into}}
A '''waste pond''' or '''chemical pond''' is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of water pollutants, and sometimes utilized as a method of [[Physics:Recycling|recycling]] or decomposing toxic substances.  Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of pollutant materials or may be used as upset receivers for special pollution events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2003/20030314en.html|title=U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission details of handling certain upset events|publisher=}}</ref>  Often, chemical ponds themselves are addressed for [[Engineering:Environmental remediation|cleanup]] action after their useful life is over or when a risk of [[Earth:Groundwater|groundwater]] contamination arises.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/nplpad.nsf/0/cb601d3cf3b34eb6852565950047dc53!OpenDocument|title=Idaho National Laboratory: U.S. Department of Energy, EPA ID# ID4890008952|publisher=}}</ref>  Peak usage of waste ponds in the United States occurred in the period 1955 to 1985, after which the environmental risks of pond technology were sufficiently understood,<ref>David Crimp, Leda Patmore et al., ''Environmental Assessment of Kaiser Refractories Waste Pond, Moss Landing, California'', Earth Metrics Inc., Santa Cruz County, California and the State of California Environmental Clearinghouse (1976)</ref> such that alternative technologies{{what?|date=November 2018}} for waste disposal gradually began to displace many of the waste ponds.   Waste ponds often have pond liners, such as [[Chemistry:Concrete|concrete]] or robust synthetic [[Chemistry:Polymer|polymer]]ic materials, to prevent [[Earth:Infiltration (hydrology)|infiltration]] of chemicals to soil or groundwater.

==Examples==
===Piscataway chemical pond===
One example of a chemical pond is situated in the woods of Piscataway, New Jersey. It was used by Union Carbide during the active phase of plant operation. Its main use was for drainage of chemicals. Hazardous and exotic chemicals would go down drains in the plant to the pond and later be pumped back to the factory via two large pumps. There it would be distilled to remove [[Chemistry:Acetone|acetone]] and other hazardous chemicals from the mix. This process was overall harmful to the environment and polluted the [[Earth:Groundwater|groundwater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=&sll=39.103157,-94.634514&sspn=0.126284,0.233459&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=40.556656,-74.498055&spn=0.003864,0.010815&t=h&iwloc=addr|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref>

===Oak Ridge waste pond===
The United States [[Organization:Oak Ridge National Laboratory|Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] operated for more than 50 years, performing research and production at its facility in the Melton Valley area of the Oak Ridge Reservation, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, before it was decommissioned in the mid 1960s.  One of the results of this activity was a waste pond, which was contaminated with [[Physics:Radioactive|radioactive]] waste including [[Physics:Strontium-90|strontium-90]], [[Physics:Caesium-137|caesium-137]]; [[Physics:Tritium|tritium]], and [[Physics:Transuranium element|transuranics]].
During the 1970s, the pond was backfilled with [[Earth:Clay|clay]] and [[Chemistry:Shale|shale]], and finally capped with [[Engineering:Asphalt concrete|asphalt]]. 

In the mid 1990s, as a temporary solution to concerns that soil and sediments could migrate into nearby streams and, ultimately, reservoirs used for recreation and drinking water supplies, Department of Energy officials installed a [[Physics:Cryogenics|cryogenic]] stabilization system at the waste pond, freezing the soil and groundwater to a depth of approximately {{convert|30|ft|m}} around the pond, thereby forming a barrier to groundwater leaching. 

In February 2004, the cryogenic system was dismantled, replaced with a temporary thermal foam blanket to keep the soil cold, and the pond was excavated.  The soil in the areas surrounding the frozen pond contained lower [[Chemistry:Soil contamination|levels of contamination]] than the pond itself, but enough contamination that it had to be removed.  Approximately {{convert|10000|cuyd|m3}} of soil were removed from the surrounding areas. Another {{convert|5400|cuyd|m3}} of soil were excavated from the pond itself.<ref>[http://www.cegltd.com/story.asp?story=5541 Gwenyth Laird Pernie, ''Crew Takes on Chemical Pond'', Construction Equipment Guide (2005)]</ref>

==See also==
*Evaporation ponds
*[[Chemistry:Waste stabilization pond|Waste stabilization pond]]

==References==
<References />



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[[Category:Water pollution]]

{{Sourceattribution|Waste pond}}