MWRA/MASCO
Hospital Mercury Work Group

Infrastructure Subcommittee
Maintenance Guidebook

This Manual is Intended As a Guideline for the Cleaning of "Special Waste" Piping and Pretreatment Systems for Control of Mercury and is Presented to the MWRA/MASCO Work Groups by Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

1.0PROBLEM OVERVIEW

1.1 Purpose

1.2 General Findings

2.0SPECIAL WASTES PIPING AND PRETREATMENT SYSTEMS

2.1 Definition of Special Waste

2.2 Special Waste Piping Design

2.3 Special Waste Regulatory Guidelines

2.3.1 General

2.3.2 Design and Installation of Special Waste Systems

2.3.3 Neutralizing Sumps (Chip Tanks)

2.3.4 pH Adjustment Tanks

3.0FORMS OF MERCURY

3.1 Purpose

3.2 Types of Mercury

3.2.1 Mercury the Element

3.2.2 Elemental Mercury (Hg 0)

3.2.3 Methyl Mercury (CH3Hg+)

3.2.4 Dimethyl Mercury (CH3)2Hg

3.2.5 Divalent Mercury (Hg 2+)

3.3 Use of Mercury

3.3.1 Mercury Products

4.0MERCURY ACCUMULATION IN BIOMASS

4.1 General

4.2 Biomass Formation

4.3 Biomass Absorption of Mercury

4.4 Mercury Accumulation Process

4.5 Dimethyl Mercury Precautions

5.0SPECIAL WASTE RISER

5.1 Purpose

5.2 Riser Diagram

5.2.1 Facility Audit

5.2.2 System Designs and Modifications

5.2.3 Isolation Valves

5.2.4 Sampling Port / Drain Leg

5.2.5 Riser Venting

5.2.6 Glass Inspection Segment

5.2.7 Chemical Reactions of Incompatible Materials

5.2.8 Support Engineering Drawings

6.0TRAP CLEANING PROTOCOL

6.1 Purpose

6.2 Trap Location / Identification

6.3 Removal of Elemental Mercury

6.4 Removal of Biomass

6.5 Cleaning Procedures

7.0INFRASTRUCTURE POWERWASHING

7.1 Purpose

7.2 Powerwashing Operations

7.2.1 Cleaning Operations

7.2.2 Powerwashing Precautions

7.2.3 Wastewater Disposal

7.3 Equipment

7.3.1 KJ-1250 Water Jetter

7.4 Chemicals used

7.4.1 Chemical Addition

7.4.2 Bleach Solution

7.4.3 Other Cleaning Chemicals

8.0CHEMICAL CLEANING

8.1 Purpose

8.2 Plumbing Sample Procurement From Host Institutions

8.3 Bench Testing and Chemical Cleaning

8.3.1 Protocol Cleaning Chemicals

8.3.2 Protocol Samples

8.3.3 Summary of Protocol Analytical Data

8.3.4 Sulfuric Acid

8.3.5 Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydrogen Peroxide/Sulfuric Acid Etch

8.3.6 Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide

8.3.7 Nitric Acid and Triton X-100

8.4 Conclusion

9.0 SAMPLING

9.1 Sampling Techniques

9.1.1 Grab Sample

9.1.2 Composite Sample

9.1.3 Permit Sampling

9.2 Standard Operating Procedures for Sampling

9.3 SMART Data

9.4 Sampling Port

10.0 WASTE DISPOSAL PROTOCOL

10.1 Purpose

10.2 Waste Disposal Procedures

10.2.1 Mercury Limits

10.2.2 Waste Determination

10.2.3 Waste Disposal

APPENDICES:

For further information on appendices that are not currently linked here, please contact David Eppstein by e-mail at david@masco2.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-632-2860. Thank you.

• Appendix A MWRA Standard Operating Procedures for Sampling

• Appendix B DEP Certified Independent Laboratories, February, 1995
  (Contact the DEP, Lawrence Experiment Station, for current listing, updated biannually)

• Appendix C KJ-1250 Water Jetter

• Appendix D MASCO Pipe Cleaning Protocol

• Appendix E Flowmeter Signal Connection Information

• Appendix F SMART Data Clarification Letter From Mr. Eugene B. Benson