PPL crews brought in a heavy-lift helicopter from the Detroit area late Thursday (8/25) as part of the effort to plug a leaking ash storage pond at the company's Martins Creek power plant in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Pa.
Plugging the leak will stop the flow of water and coal ash from the pond into the Delaware River.
Meanwhile, preliminary test results of river water in the area of the Easton water intake show arsenic contamination of 16 parts per billion – well below the safe water drinking limit of 50 parts per billion. Arsenic is a component in coal ash.
"We're pleased that preliminary test results show that there is no impact on the quality of drinking water," said Tom Eppehimer, plant manager. "We continue our efforts to try to stop the leak."
Eppehimer said crews have been working around the clock. "We fabricated a 3,600-pound steel plate as a kind of stopper, and the helicopter carried the structure out into the pond and lowered it into place," he said. "That effort was unsuccessful because the plate did not form a sufficient seal.
Plant crews then switched to a backup plan – giant sandbags that plant workers prepared earlier in the day. As of 8:15 p.m., the helicopter had placed six one-ton sandbags into the basin discharge area to attempt to plug the leak. Crews will continue to use sandbags throughout the night, although the helicopter cannot work because of darkness.
Earlier Thursday, PPL and an environmental cleanup company placed absorbent booms into the river to stem the flow of ash. Workers also placed straw bales to attempt to contain the leaking water on PPL property.
On Wednesday, plant workers attempted to use steel plates to stop the leak. Later in the day, they began placing special timbers in the path of the leak, and worked through the night. Both attempts were unsuccessful.
"We're encouraged by the test results and the clearer river water," said Eppehimer. "We're determined to do whatever it takes, and to keep working on this problem until it is fixed."
The basin is a storage area for the ash created when the plant burns coal to generate electricity. During normal operations, the ash settles to the bottom of the pond and the water is discharged from the top of the basin to the river.
The leak developed late Tuesday night (8/23) in a concrete and wooden structure in the middle of the pond that collects water for discharge to the river. Because of the leak, ash from the bottom of the pond mixed with the water and is being carried through the discharge pipe to the river.
About 51 million gallons of water has leaked from the pond since Tuesday night.
The coal ash has caused cloudiness in the river that has been observed downstream of the plant at Easton, Pa., and beyond.
PPL has taken numerous water samples in the river and expects to have additional results later Thursday (8/25).
"We have notified state environmental agencies, water authorities and municipal officials around the plant and downriver in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and plan to keep everyone informed," said Eppehimer.
Water tests on two residential wells closest to the leaking water near the plant showed no arsenic contamination, Eppehimer said.
PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls about 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.