Biweekly update 4/17/25
EPA and it’s contractors continue to perform Site
preparations and removal work at the Fairmont Brine Site. Site activities have
included the following tasks:
- Conducted waste characterization sampling of the six roll-offs containing filter cake material on the site
- Sampled the liquids and solid material in the ten frac tanks, and sampled solids and liquids from the concrete basin. Waste characterization results will determine disposal facility eligibility
- Assessed and characterizing on-site debris
- Cleared access areas into the upper complex building to allow for removal of filter cake material from the floor and process areas of the upper complex building.
- Constructed a staging area for debris screening.
- Began segregating material from inside the upper complex building for offsite disposal.
Security cameras have been installed at the
site allowing for 24/7 video surveillance.
The EPA and contractor personnel regularly
screen AFR Drive with radiation monitoring equipment.
EPA will begin packaging TENORM contaminated
materials for disposal in the near future pending waste characterization
results.
Previous site updates have been archived and
made publicly available under the “Documents” tab. The most recent document can
be found here: Archived Site Updates 4/17/2025
Site
Overview:
The Fairmont Brine Processing site is located at 168 AFR
Drive in Fairmont West Virginia. The Brine processing facility was constructed
between 2009 and 2010 by the AOP Clearwater LLC. The plant was acquired
by Fairmont Brine Processing (FBP) in 2012. FBP began pre-treatment
operations at the site in 2013 and fully
operated the plant in fall of 2014. FBP ceased operations at the
site on or about March 1, 2018.
The plant accepted flowback and produced fluids from the
hydraulic fracturing process used to extract natural gas, otherwise known as
"Brine". FBP used chemical and carbon filter media,
multiple-effect evaporation, and crystallization to treat and process the brine
they received. This produced Sodium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, and Distilled
water. By-products created from the process include wastewater treatment sludge
and filter cake material. Produced fluids from fracking operations
can contain Technically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials,
known as "TENORM". Click
here to learn more about TENORM.
On May 30, 2023, there was a fire and subsequent explosion
at the site damaging an above ground storage tank and the upper process
building. Following the fire, elevated readings of TENORM radiation were
found in several areas of the site. Click here
for general information about radiation sources and doses.
